


Trust No One

by draculaspetbee



Series: The X-Files Crossover Nobody Asked For [1]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Guns, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jesse Manes is His Own Warning, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Punching, References to Torture, mentions of dead bodies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:55:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 42,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23352793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculaspetbee/pseuds/draculaspetbee
Summary: After a close call on a case, FBI Agent Michael Guerin is assigned to a new partner and assignment. He is put with Agent Alex Manes who is in charge of the X-Files, a highly mocked area in the FBI itself, as it deals with aliens and the supernatural. The problem? Michael Guerin and his family are aliens. And Alex Manes is a believer. As they begin to work together solving a case Michael finds himself drawn to Alex, while also desperately trying to cover up his real identity.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Series: The X-Files Crossover Nobody Asked For [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2107497
Comments: 302
Kudos: 220





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As I was an OG X-Files watcher and I know what happened a bit with the fandom back in the day, so I do feel I need to say: I do not own anything related to the X-Files, this is in no way related to the show itself. 
> 
> I have a full story planned out for this, and I'm hoping to put out a chapter a week! Please let me know what you think!

Michael squirmed in the uncomfortable chair that was in front of Assistant Director Valenti’s desk. She stared at him, clearly unimpressed with his attitude.

“Look, Valenti, I don’t know why you called me in here. I’ve been cleared for duty; I just want to get back to my assignments.” He started chewing on his fingernails absentmindedly, his mind racing to figure out why she’d called him in.

“Guerin,” she sighed heavily as she paced behind her desk. “Guerin, you were nearly shot two days ago, we found you surrounded by bullets with a massive nosebleed, and you wouldn’t even let anyone check you for injuries.” She leaned heavily on the desk, leveling him with a steely look. “I shouldn’t have even let you back into this building, let alone allow you back on assignment.” 

He bristled at that, making a move to interrupt her, but she barreled forward with her speech.

“Guerin, we’ve decided to reassign you. You’re to report to the basement to meet your new partner, Agent Alex Manes and determine whether or not his, _unique excursions_ , are necessary for the FBI to continue funding.”

“And what kind of, excursions, is Agent Manes going on exactly?”

She shot him an unreadable look as she sat back down in her high-backed chair.

“Agent Manes runs what we here in the bureau calls The X-Files. He specializes in computer science, criminal profiling, and he also believes that extraterrestrials have visited earth. His work on The X-Files deals with the latter.”

There was a long beat of silence.

“I’m sorry, he believes in aliens?” Michael fought to keep the tremor out of his voice. Hopefully A.D. Valenti would chalk it up to incredulity. Anxiety bloomed in his stomach at the thought of having to work with a man who believed in his people.

Valenti steepled her fingers and leveled him with another look.

“Yes. All we are asking you to do is see if his department is worth funding. We will require you to send in field notes regularly, with all details included. Thank you, Agent Guerin, you are dismissed.” She began shuffling her papers, resolutely refusing to look up at him.

“Valenti, you can’t be serious about this! You expect me to spy on a fellow agent? One who is clearly having some sort of mental break?!”

“Guerin.” Her voice left no room for argument. “It’s either this assignment or you take a leave of absence.”

He huffed, anger flaring for a second. “Fine.” He shot up out of the chair, and, knowing it was a petulant act, stomped out of her office.

* * *

The elevator ride down to Agent Manes’ office was long enough for his nerves to ramp up to maximum. Michael could feel his stomach turning over as he tried to decide how he would try to keep his new partner from finding out he was working with an alien. There would have to be straight up denial of everything supernatural, hopefully he could be convincing enough to keep Max, Isabel, and himself safe from this new threat in their lives.

He tried not to pace in the small space the elevator allowed him, but he couldn’t stop himself from gripping his hair tightly. If only he had Isabel’s power, he could just have manipulated everyone into forgetting his near miss a week back. But then again, if he was like Isabel he probably would’ve died. Michael sucked in a shuddering breath as the elevator slowed down to a shaky stop at the bottom floor.

He rolled his shoulders, popped his neck, and shook out his hands to stop the shaking. The elevator opened up to an empty hallway. It was, however, packed top to bottom with messy file cabinets and loose papers filling his vision. There was a thumping of bass heavy music at the very end of the hallway, where Michael could see a door was propped open with a small sliver of light beaming out. He had to weave through the cabinets, at some points having to turn sideways to make it through the mess. 

As he moved closer, the music got progressively louder, and Michael recognized it as an early Danger! At the Picture Show song. So, the new partner was an emo kid at heart. He filed that away for later, anything he can pick up on Agent Manes could be useful. The wall next to the open door showed a plaque with “Agent Manes” engraved on it. At least he knew he was in the right place.

Michael knocked on the door gently, but he doubted he could be heard over the thumping of the bass. He slowly pushed the door open, only to stop dead in the doorway.

Agent Manes was leaning over a file, looking up every few seconds to type something into the laptop in front of him. He had one leg propped up on a chair, and was, with one hand, rubbing the area under his knee absently as he concentrated. His hair was ruffled, looking like he messed with it when frustrated. He had glasses on but was still squinting at the screen, fully concentrating on whatever he was doing. The business pants that Agent Manes had on were fitted tight on him and his dress shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his strong arms.

Michael felt a shot of _want_ go through him and settle in his belly.

He shook his head, trying to clear the sudden inappropriate thoughts (this man was his new partner, and a potential threat) and looked up at the room at large.

In front of the desk Agent Manes was sitting at hung a poster. It showed what was obviously a UFO flying on a background of clear blue sky over a pine forest. Underneath the saucer blazed the clear words “I WANT TO BELIEVE” in white capital letters. Michael raised an eyebrow at it, scoffing a bit to himself at the badly constructed UFO, there was no way a vehicle like that would have even lifted off the ground. His gaze moved from the poster to the other things in the room. There was only the one desk (Michael briefly wondered where he was supposed to sit), on one wall was a cork board that was covered in photos of elongated skulls, more UFOs, and fake alien autopsies. Like the hallway, the office was filled with file cabinets and papers. Unlike the hallway, these were clearly organized by a sharp concentrated mind. Michael had no doubt that if he checked they would be color coded and put in alphabetical order.

The music started to fade, and Michael, seeing his chance to finally catch the attention of the man in front of him, coughed politely and waited for Agent Manes to turn around and address him.

To Michael's utter surprise, instead of flinching at the sudden noise behind him, Agent Manes simply muted the music on his laptop, lowered his leg from the extra chair, and spun around to see Michael properly.

“Agent Manes?” Michael held out his hand to shake. “I’m Agent Michael Guerin, I’ve been assigned to be your new partner, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”

Agent Manes looked up at him from the chair and took his hand to shake. Michael felt a zing of electricity at the touch. Agent Manes had the prettiest brown eyes Michael had ever seen.

“Who did you piss off to get stuck with this assignment Guerin?” Sarcastic too. God, Michael had to be careful around this guy.

“Actually, I’m quite looking forward to working with you Agent Manes.” Michael didn’t miss the flinch when Manes’ last name was said this time. Agent Manes raised one of his eyebrows disbelievingly, and Michael almost had to physically pull his gaze away from the man.

“It’s Alex. And I was under the impression that you were sent to spy on me” His tone was short, he was obviously as upset by this as Michael was.

Michael sputtered. “I… I don’t think.” He ran a hand over his face. This was not how he was hoping this would go. “I was told by A.D. Valenti that I have to send in my regular field notes to her after each case. I tried to refuse, but she was _quite_ insistent.” Alex regarded him shrewdly, narrowing his eyes at Michael from under his wire framed glasses. He must have sensed something in him, as he nodded and spun back around to the laptop on the desk.

“Tell me Guerin, what have you heard about the series of murders occurring in Roswell New Mexico the last few years?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael gets more information, and a surprise!
> 
> This week has been wild, so this is a bit shorter than I was hoping for, but I felt it was a good place to end the chapter.

Michael leaned forward to see over Alex’s shoulder, he had pulled up what appeared to be a file on the network. It took him a moment to focus what was on the screen, Alex smelled _good_ , like vanilla, black currant, and a hint of wood smoke, it was overwhelming.

When he finally focused on what Alex had pulled up, he flinched, hard. Michael had to cover his gasp with a fist. There were a number of pictures of men and women on the screen, all autopsy photos, with one shimmering left-hand handprint on their throats. He had seen these types of handprints before, once when Max had healed him as teens, and that one night, the night they had promised never to speak of when darkness had found them as children. Alex was speaking, he obviously hadn’t heard Michael’s distressed noise. Michael shook his head vehemently, trying to get rid of the high-pitched ringing in his ears.

He took a step back from Alex and cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

Alex gave him a sharp look, his perfect eyebrows raised in what could be concern, or just as easily suspicion.

“I was saying,” as he turned back around to click through the pictures on the screen, “all of these people were found with these marks on them. The coroner could find no cause of death, in fact the only thing wrong with them were the handprints on their skin.”

“Ha-Have you seen anything like this before?” Michael rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension that was building up in his shoulders.

“Just once,” Alex clicked to the last picture, and this time Michael couldn’t hide the gasp, feeling bile at the back of his throat. It was the drifter, the man that had attacked them in that far off desert, the one that him and his family, too young, too innocent, had to protect themselves from.

“As you can see” Alex was still talking, focused on the picture on the screen gesturing as he spoke.

“this handprint is smaller than the others. This one happened about 15 years ago, while the others have all been within the last two years. And,” here he pulled up the six other photos so that all of them were on the screen at once “whoever did these last few was left-handed, and the first one was right-handed.”

He was speaking with such enthusiasm, and all Michael could think was _Oh shit this guy is absolutely going to dissect us._

“What do you think is doing this?” Michael interrupted him mid rant.

“Well!” Alex lifted his leg up off the chair he had been resting it on, and got up, wincing as he did. Michael frowned, but didn’t comment on it. Alex went over to the file cabinets and removed a physical file.

“There are some unverified stories that I found by doing some digging, dating back to the 1940s from people who had similar experiences. People who were critically hurt and then woke up, completely healed with a handprint on them. They have the classic signs of abduction, lost time, missing memories, ripped clothing, and in most cases, there were reports of weird lights in the sky. With that information along with the data from the case, I think,” he held the file out to Michael “that the six people murdered in the last two years were killed by an alien.”

Michael scoffed and ignored the file, trying to play off his anxiety, “That’s a little dramatic don’t you think Alex?” he rolled his eyes for good measure. Michael didn’t miss the flash of hurt on Alex’s face, and guilt settled low in his gut.

“You think I’m crazy, don’t you” It was a statement more than a question that Alex shot at him.

“Hey, Alex, I don’t” Michael reached out a bit, somehow wanting to comfort his new partner already.

“Whatever,” Alex shrugged, not seeing Michael’s effort. He looked up and locked eyes with Michael, “so, are you going to come with me or not?”

“What? Where are we going?”

Alex squared his jaw, obviously shifting into a more serious persona, “ _I’m_ going to Roswell, and if you’re coming with me, then _we_ are going to solve these murders.”

* * *

“Heeey… Izzy… So… I’m going home!” Michael tried to inject as much enthusiasm into his voice as possible, he wasn’t entirely sure how Isobel was going to take the news that he was heading back to Roswell.

“That’s great Michael” he imagined that he could hear her eye roll, even from over the phone. “Why are you calling me to tell me you are heading back to your apartment?”

“No, Izzy, I- I’m heading out to Roswell tomorrow.”

Silence echoed over the line.

“Michael.” Her voice was sharp, she was suddenly all too aware of the point he was trying to make “WHY?”

Michael had to hold the phone away from his face, her yelling not helping his building anxiety.

“Izzy!” She was still yelling at him, “IZZY PLEASE!” She went silent. He rubbed his face with his one free hand, suddenly feeling exhaustion in his bones.

“I don’t really have a choice Iz, after I almost got shot a few days ago the bureau decided to put me with this guy.. he, he believes in aliens. He’s going to go to Roswell whether I’m with him or not. It’ll be safer for all of us if I’m there.”

She was silent on the other side.

“Iz?”

Nothing.

“Iz, come on, say something.”

“I’m packing up Michael, I’m going to meet you there and mind wipe this guy.” Michael could now hear muffled shuffling coming from her. As she said that, Michael could see the hurt look that had flashed across Alex’s face, when he thought Michael thought him crazy.

“No Iz! No. We can’t wipe him.” He tried not to concentrate on why the thought of Alex forgetting all about him filled Michael with a primal fear.

“Why not Michael? We need to get him off this case! We can’t let him figure us out. We can’t Michael. You, me, Max, we all have lives now, we have futures. That was the whole reason we left Roswell in the first place.” Isobel was beginning to get hysterical; over the line he could tell that her eyes were welling up.

“Isobel, I am your brother. You can trust me; I’ll make sure that we’re ok. I won’t let this; I won’t let him ruin us.” He paced the threadbare carpet on his apartment floor waiting for her answer.

“Ok. Ok Michael, I trust you. But I am still coming out there, and I’m calling Max. If one of us is going to be in Roswell, we all need to be there. Don’t you dare think you have to deal with this on your own.”

“Iz, you can’t, you and Max have jobs, you can’t just leave your lives to go to Roswell! Plus, I’m on a case, I can’t have two civilians showing up and meddling with a murder investigation.” He sunk down deep on his couch, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling, counting the tiles to keep himself calm. He did not want his siblings showing up and interfering with the FBI.

“Michael, we’re coming to help you. And, best case scenario, we’ll treat it as a vacation, we’ll finally get to explore the town we left as kids!” The panic she had before was slowly leaching out of her voice, turning into excitement.

“There’s really no stopping you huh?”

“Nope!” She popped her p, entirely too enthusiastic for his liking. “Now, get some sleep Michael, I know it’s late there in DC. I’ll see you soon!” Isobel hung up before he could protest any more.

He stared at the phone in his hand, utterly astonished by this turn of events. In less than 24 hours he and his siblings were going to be back in the town that they had left years ago. Michael hadn’t even considered ever going back to Roswell after the night they had fled town. As children their whole world had changed in an instant in that desert, and he couldn’t help the deep feeling that it had changed just as suddenly today when he met Alex Manes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Michael arrive in Roswell! Both are hiding something important about themselves from each other.

Alex’s new partner was… twitchy. And that was coming from the man known as one of the most paranoid agents of the FBI. Alex eyed him as they flew to Santa Fe, the closest airport to Roswell. All morning Michael had been jumping at every little thing, and Alex could’ve sworn he saw him get nauseous as the plane hit turbulence at one point.

He wasn’t exactly having the time of his life either. Going through TSA was always a nightmare and having the security agents inspect his prosthetic in front of his new partner had been humiliating. He hadn’t had the chance to tell Michael yet, and he always preferred to tell people on his terms, before they saw his leg. Now, after sitting in the same seat for hours on the plane, his leg was aching. But there was no way he was taking off the prosthetic in front of everyone on the plane.

Alex looked over at his partner, who had his seat sat laid back as far as he could, trying to maintain a modicum of aloofness, but Alex could see his knuckles had turned white from gripping the hand rests so hard.

“Is this your first time flying?” He told himself that he needed a distraction from the pain, that was all, he really didn’t care.

“Yea. As far as I can remember anyway” Michael hadn’t even opened his eyes, but he shifted his head over, so he was leaning slightly toward Alex now. It wasn’t endearing, it wasn’t.

“Well, maybe we’ll see if the bureau will let us rent a car instead next time. I don’t want to deal with TSA again after today anyway.” Michael nods silently at him, and Alex takes that to mean that he is concentrating on not being sick.

Going over the plan again in his brain, he tries to make sure everything is going to go right during this investigation.

  1. Get the rental and drive from Santa Fe.
  2. Make sure our hotel rooms aren’t bugged.
  3. Try to stay away from his father.
  4. Go to the sheriff’s department to look at their case files.
  5. See if any locals know anything about the case.
  6. Try to stay away from his father.
  7. Contact the local MUFON chapter and check if they have any reports for the nights of the deaths.
  8. Compile all the information to try to come up with a solid theory with evidence.
  9. Get a list of suspects.
  10. Try to stay away from his father.



He hadn’t told Michael yet who his dad was. Surely, he didn’t need to let him know that his dad was living there. He saw no need to involve himself with the Air Force again, especially on a case like this, they’d taken so much from him already anyway. No, there was no need to tell Michael yet, he was going to stick to the local sheriff’s office, civilians, and doctors. He was going to stay as far away from Colonel Jesse Manes as possible.

* * *

The drive out to Roswell was, awkward at best. Michael had insisted on driving the rental car for the whole three-hour drive, giving Alex a chance to stretch his leg out and work through some of the pain. It was Alex’s turn to be a bit twitchy, he hadn’t been in this town for 10 years. _It hasn’t changed much, small towns never really do_ , he thought quietly. He stared at the places he knew growing up as they blurred through the window.

“Where are we staying? You never did give me the hotel details” Michael didn’t look at him from the driver’s side.

“Oh, it’s up ahead,” he shook himself out of his thoughts, and pointed to the hotel as it loomed in front of them.

Alex unpacked the car and went in to meet Michael at the front desk. Michael was leaning against the counter top, and Alex had to wrench his eyes away from what was put on display from his pose. He looked up to see that Michael’s shoulders were tense and he was arguing with the person at the computer.

“No, we should have two rooms. Two rooms with Queens.” He poked a finger twice on the counter for emphasis.

“I’m sorry sir, but all we have is one room with a King-sized bed, room service can bring up a fold-a-way cot for the room. We can put a refund on the card for the room but that is all we have left.” The woman had a no nonsense, I don’t give a fuck attitude, that normally Alex would have appreciated, but now rubbed on his raw nerves.

Michael looked over his shoulder at Alex, apologetic.

“Alex! Look man, it’s up to you, we can find somewhere else. I’m sure the bureau would understand if we needed to find another place while we’re in town.”

He was exhausted. The pain was shooting up his leg already, and he was needing rest, _now_.

“No, it’s fine. We need to regroup anyway. We’re adults, right? We can handle being in the same room for a few nights.”

The room was smaller than Alex thought, with the bed looming large in the middle. God it looked inviting. The plush blankets called to him, and even though it was only 5pm he wished he could just sink into that mattress.

“I’ll take the fold-out cot.” Alex said and turned to Michael, squaring his jaw, leaving no room for argument.

“Dude, you look like you’re going to pass out where you stand, no way am I going to leave you with the cot. Take the bed.”

Well. Maybe Michael _could_ find room for argument. They stood there awkwardly staring at each other, neither making a move to the bed in front of them. Michael raised an eyebrow infuriatingly and plunked his bags in the corner.

“I’m going to go get the cot.” And with that he marched out of the room.

“Oh my god.” Alex sank into the bed, releasing the pressure on his knee. He ran his hands over his face, letting the exhaustion wash over him. Roswell was already getting to him; Alex could tell he was already on edge. His plan was already going to shit, and it was throwing him off his normal procedures. He needed to get back on track. Groaning, he hefted himself back up and began checking the room.

Which is how Michael found him a few minutes later, stretching out as far as he could, standing on top of the bed, unscrewing the light bulb on the ceiling.

“What. Are. You. What are you doing, Alex?” He jumped a bit at the tone, losing balance, but he kept his grip on the light bulb. Alex felt his center of gravity shift, and his stomach dropped out through his feet.

* * *

Michael hefted the fold out cot into the room and was startled to see Alex unscrewing the lights. A strip of his toned stomach was peeking out from under his shirt as it rode up his torso.

“What. Are. You. What are you doing, Alex?” He saw Alex flinch and begin to fall. Without thinking Michael dropped the cot, and reached out, catching Alex with his powers. For a second he felt relief, mind numbing relief that Michael had kept him safe. And then he remembered himself, and let Alex fall the rest of the way to the bed underneath him.

He quickly picked up the cot, and drug it fully through the doorway. Michael kicked the door closed and looked up to see how Alex had landed. He was spread eagled on his back, staring up at the ceiling, a furrow in his brow, and a scrunch on his face. God, Michael wanted to kiss that look off, he looked adorable. He turned his back on Alex, shoving that thought down deep. He began setting up the cot, determined to pretend nothing had happened.

“What the hell was that Guerin??” Michael could feel his shoulders tense, but he ignored the question.

“No really, what the hell was that?” Michael sighed, and turned around, ready for a fight. Alex was up on his elbows now, staring at him from the bed, hair tousled from the fall.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He lifted his chin in defiance. “I came in and saw you standing on top of the bed! What the hell were you doing? Why have you unscrewed all the light bulbs in the room?”

A blush spread over Alex’s face at that, and Michael felt a shiver go down his spine.

“I was checking for bugs. I check every time I go to a hotel.”

“God Alex, that’s so paranoid.” He shook his head and finished with the cot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. Feel free to let me know what you think! Also, if you want to follow me, I'm on Tumblr at the same username!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations are made. The boys go out to a bar. Things sometimes don't work out how you think they should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK! So, I had a burst of inspiration (as well as a good friend asking me nightly since she read it if I could work on it :D) and I have the next chapter done way before I thought I would! Also, it's about 4 times as long as the others. Enjoy!!

He struggled out of the soft bedding that was quickly enveloping him so he could see Michael properly. The man had his back turned to him and was messing with the cot more than was really necessary. Alex stared at the lean muscles that were moving under his shirt as he moved around. It’s just, Alex could have sworn that while he was falling, he had caught sight of dark honey colored eyes flashing with worry, an arm outstretched, and the feeling of weightlessness. He’d known weightlessness before, had experienced someone reaching out to save him from it, arms outstretched trying catch him as he hurtled away from them. He’d woken up in blood after that.

It was clear that Michael didn’t want to talk about _whatever_ had happened. Hell, even _he_ wasn’t quite sure what had happened, he hadn’t had Iraq flashbacks for a while now, but he couldn’t rule that out. And what was he going to say? Hey, did you make me float for a second just now? No, out of the question. His partner already thought he was crazy; he didn’t need to confirm it for him.

Doing his best to ignore the other man in the room, he took stock of the lightbulbs that he had gathered on the bed. It quickly became apparent that they were clear, and he felt some of the tension in his shoulders ease. He began the arduous task of going back around the room, putting the bulbs back into their respective spots. Alex could feel the consistent pain in his leg flair up above his normal tolerance, the fall must’ve jarred it more than he thought. Trying not to let it show, he tried to relieve some of the pressure as he walked. He turned around from the second beside table lamp to see Michael behind him, holding out his hand, eyebrows raised, with a MOST unimpressed look on his face.

“What?” Ok, maybe that was a bit terser than he meant it to be.

“Alex, I’m not letting you climb up on top of the bed again just to put that damn lightbulb back. Your leg is hurt,” Michael ignored his indignant noise, “just let me do it.”

“Oh, and are you going to stop me?” Alex knew he was being cocky now, tilting his head in that way he knew got a reaction.

Michael scoffed, but kept his hand held out. Alex had a flash of wanting to just take it to hold, but fought against the urge.

“Fine. Whatever.” He gave Michael the last light bulb and sat down heavily on the chair in the room. From this angle he could see that Michael had a blush going up the back of his neck. Alex reassured himself that he couldn’t be the reason why. Michael was frustrated and tired, that was the only reason he was flushed. Alex watched as he sat down across from him at the foot of the bed.

“Ok, now that we know the room isn’t _bugged_ ” Alex could feel the sarcasm drip off Michael’s words and seep into his blood. It was his turn to flush. “what do you propose we do? At this point all of the businesses are closed except for the bars, so we can’t go and talk to the sheriff yet.”

God, Alex just needed a drink, he kind of wanted to forget all about the awkwardness of the day, get out of the funk that Roswell was already pushing onto his shoulders. Was the Pony still open? Fuck, he hadn’t been to Roswell in years, and he didn’t exactly keep in contact with people here. Most thought he was crazy after the incident happened. Alex had only been twelve then. He’d had a tight nit group of friends after that, but even they fell away when he was shipped off to basic.

“I uh, I might know of a place.” Alex could feel Michael staring at him, he could almost see his eyebrows disappearing into the halo of golden hair, but he didn’t want to look up to confirm it. “I, I grew up here. I just haven’t been back for,” he bit his lip, pretending he didn’t know the date that had been branded into his soul “about ten years now.”

He chanced a look up at Michael now, trying to gauge the reaction that bit of information would get. He looked, shocked? Surprised? Unbelieving?

“What?” Alex demanded. Michael was giggling. Fucking giggling at him.

“You don’t think it’s kind of cliché that the one man in the FBI that believes in aliens is from Alien Capital USA? The town that holds an Annual UFO Conference every year. Alex, every fucking restaurant in this town has an alien themed item on the menu. The McDonald’s across the street is shaped like a UFO!” He was fully shaking now, shoulders heaving with laughter.

“Oh, don’t be an ass Guerin, come on, we’re going out to a bar tonight.”

Michael Guerin had a problem. His partner, Alex Manes, was fucking hot. While Michael was in the shower, trying to scrub off the raw feeling Alex’s eyes gave him, Alex himself had went and gotten a chair for himself to use in the shower. He didn’t ask about it, just saw Alex sitting on the bed, plastic chair in hand, waiting patiently for him to get out of the fogged-up room.

Michael really didn’t take long to get ready, just palming that fancy oil that Isobel sends him in the mail through his curls. She knows he would never pay for it himself, but she told him once she can’t stand to see his hair “turn into a rat’s nest Michael, shit, take care of yourself”. After that it was a matter of minutes to slip on a flannel, put on a stiff pair of new blue jeans he’d packed (he hadn’t worn jeans since he’d started working in D.C.), and he was ready to go.

The problem was Alex now looked like his personal wet dream when he sauntered out of that bathroom. He’d somehow gotten into the tightest black skinny jeans Michael had ever seen. Alex had ruffled his hair up, not really putting it into spikes, but giving it enough volume that Michael had to physically hold his hands down to stop himself from running them through the locks. He’d put on a little bit of eyeliner, enough so that the kohl rimmed his eyes, but not nearly enough to give himself cat-eye effects. He should have looked sharp and uninviting, but he had on an incredibly soft looking maroon long-sleeved shirt that dampened that effect. His cheeks were flushed from what Michael assumed was the hot water in the bathroom, and Michael wanted nothing more than to kiss him senseless.

“What?” Alex looked at him as he put on the glasses he’d been wearing the first day they’d met, eyebrow raised.

Michael could hear his own throat click as he tried to swallow, mouth suddenly dry. He tried again, opening his mouth, but no sound came out. Giving up, he shook his head and left a confused Alex Manes in the room.

* * *

The Pony was further out than Alex had told him it would be, out of town and miles into the desert. Michael tried to take small glimpses at the man sitting next to him. He could tell that Alex was already feeling pressure from being here, and he figured they were now on an even playing field in that aspect. About a mile out of town Michael heard him start singing softly under his breath along to the song on the radio. He glanced over and saw Alex was staring out of the window, zoned out in the passenger seat. He figured it must be a nervous habit, like Michael’s “oral fixation”, as Max called it. He’d offered to pay Max a million dollars to never say the word “oral” again, and that of course meant that Max brought it up all the time now.

He didn’t say anything to Alex about the singing, just enjoyed his own personal show, tapping his hand to the beat on his thigh.

Alex quieted as they pulled into the parking lot, suddenly looking more nervous than ever.

“Hey,” Alex jumped a bit, and looked over at him, “we don’t have to go in there. I don’t know what happened between you and this town, but if you’re uncomfortable we don’t have to do this.” Alex was already shaking his head, nerves quickly morphing into steely determination.

“No, I need to do this. I need to prove I can do this.” And with that he had jumped out of the car and hurried into the bar before Michael could ask what the hell that meant.

Michael didn’t have to look far to find him in the bar. He opened the door and Alex was stood stock still, staring at the bartender. Michael had to admit, she was beautiful, but right now she looked downright thunderous. And all of that thunder in her eyes was focused on Alex.

“ALEX MANES?” Her screech drew attention from everyone in the bar. Michael whipped his focus from her back to Alex, where he was slowly draining of color.

“Maria? What? Oof” She hit him full on wrapping her arms around him, and Alex would have fallen over if Michael hadn’t braced him with his arm on Alex’s back.

“Alex, what are you doing back here?” Her hands fluttered over Alex’s face and arms, as if she was trying to make sure he was real, concern clear on her face. “I thought you were out of here for good. I haven’t seen you for so long.” Michael looked away from them as her eyes filled with tears.

“Maria, I’m here for a case. I just got back into town.”

“A case? What? Alex, the last thing anyone knew you were going off to war. We tried to keep up with you, but after the accident we didn’t hear anything. And that we found out from the news! We were so worried about you. We tried writing, but nobody ever got a response. All we knew was that you were injured, and then you fell off the face of the earth.”

“Jesus Maria, who’s “we”, I never got any letters, I don’t,” Alex looked up at Michael, as if he would have the answers the two of them were looking for.

“How about we go sit somewhere, so that you two can figure out what happened, and I can go get a drink.” Michael led them over to a booth, and left the two of them talking, Maria trying to stop her tears as he went up to the bar and ordered three whiskeys. He figured they’d need something strong for this conversation.

“That son of a bitch!” Michael looked up from the bar over to where the two were sitting. Alex had gone from pale to an angry red, and if he wasn’t so far away Michael thought he would see Alex shaking. Maria reached out and grabbed Alex’s hand from across the table, and Michael felt a weird swooshing in his stomach at the sight.

Michael took the whiskeys back to the booth, and sat down next to Alex, not so subtly pushing their hands apart as he passed them their drinks.

“Ok, so did we figure out what’s going on?” Michael sipped on his drink, looking over at Alex, who was staring into his glass, before turning to Maria. She stayed silent and looked over at Alex, who finally gave in with a sigh. He looked up at the ceiling for a beat before bringing his gaze back down to earth.

“Maria, this is my partner Michael Guerin. I’m working for the FBI now, have been for about 3 years now. We’re here to investigate the murders in town. Guerin,” he heaved a sigh and looked back into his whiskey, looking like he wanted to drown in it, “Guerin, we just found out that my father has been purposefully keeping news and information on me from my old friends here in Roswell. He had access to the letters sent to me while I was enlisted, and it seems like after I got out of the Air Force, he squashed news of me being hired by the FBI. Apparently, no one knows what happened to me as of 2017.” Alex was shaking, and he still hadn’t looked up from his drink.

“Why, why would he do that?” He looked from Maria to Alex, who finally made eye-contact with him. Alex, who he thought would be devastated, instead looked livid, and huffed a bitter laugh that made Michael’s gut ache with sympathy.

“Because he’s an abusive, homophobic prick.” Alex took his whiskey and downed the whole thing like it was a shot, unflinching at the burn. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom, let me out of the booth.”

Michael scrambled to let him out, Alex needed some room, and he was more than willing to let him take a moment. His brain was turning over, _homophobic_ , did that mean… was Alex… did Michael actually, maybe have a chance with Alex? He hadn’t dared allow himself to really hope that Alex was into men, but he wasn’t going to stop himself from looking. Guilt suddenly hit him hard, he shouldn’t be thinking about his attraction to Alex, when the man himself just had devastating news dropped on him.

Maria looked up from the table at him, and he had to stop the gears turning in his brain to look in her watery eyes.

“How is he? Is he doing ok in D.C.? We missed him so much Michael. The group of us, we were worried sick about him. The last we knew he had lost his leg in Iraq.”

There it was. They’d alluded to it before, referencing “the accident”, but Alex hadn’t exactly elaborated on what had happened when Michael had seen the leg at the airport. He’d been too busy trying to hide the anger at TSA to tell Michael anything. He wished he could tell Maria that Alex was happy, that he had friends, that he was doing better in D.C. than he ever had in his life. But he’d just met Alex two days ago.

“I don’t know Maria. I was just put on assignment with him. I met him a day ago, I just don’t know.” He heard something behind him, but kept his eyes trained on Maria. She was nodding, devastation seeping into her eyes.

The noise behind him got louder, and Michael realized it was a group of men hollering wildly for Maria to bring them more drinks. He saw her lip curl in disgust, and she waived over one of the other bartenders to serve them, to the chagrin of the men in the booth.

Alex came back over, and Michael couldn’t help but notice that his eyeliner was smudged a bit, like he’d been splashing water on his face.

“Oh what, you too busy with the fucking freak to serve us Maria?” Everyone in the bar froze solid. Maria shot up from the booth, and Michael looked around confused, until he caught sight of Alex. His face was blank, like a wall had fallen between him and the outside world. It chilled Michael to the bone. The man who was usually so expressive was frozen in front of him, teeth clenched, hands balled, but unmoving.

“Long” Maria hissed, eyes narrowing at the offender in the booth behind them, who was still guffawing with his group of hicks.

“Alex?” Michael reached out to touch Alex’s arm from where he was in the booth, but Alex jerked out of his way at the last minute.

Alex started walking away, heading toward the door, when Long decided to push his luck.

“That’s right! Get out of this town! No one wants you here you fucking fa-“ Michael shot up from the booth to beat the asshole into the ground, but he didn’t get there in time. A meaty hit sounded throughout the bar; Michael was expecting to see Alex standing over the man. But it was Maria there, breathing heavily, knuckles bruised from the solid right hook she’d thrown.

“Get the hell out of my bar, Long. If you ever show your face around here again, you better believe you’ll be getting something stronger hitting your gut than my whiskey.” She had it handled Michael figured. He turned to look at Alex, but the man wasn’t there anymore.

“Fuck.” Michael ran out of the bar to see his partner getting into the passenger side of the rental car, staring straight ahead. Michael froze in front of the car, staring in at Alex, trying to gauge his emotion with the glass and feet of sand separating them. He got nothing.

He spent another awkward drive in silence. His glances over at Alex were less lustful than they were on the way here, now they were filled with the hectic worry spinning inside him. Alex left the car like a zombie, still not making eye contact with Michael as they went up to the room. Michael wanted to both give Alex his space and wrap Alex up in the blanket on the bed and never let him go. Instead, Michael let him change in the bathroom, Alex had finally broken his silence to tell him he needed to take his eyeliner off. Michael sat down on the cot in the corner, and let his thoughts overtake him, staring at a square in the carpet.

Alex finally came out of the bathroom, looking softer, sadder, with tear-red eyes. Michael felt his neck pop as he looked up too quickly at the man.

“Alex, do you”

“No. I don’t want to talk about it.” Alex sat down on the bed, back turned to Michael so that Michael couldn’t see him take off his leg. He propped the leg on the wall next to the bed, and he got under the covers, back still turned to Michael.

Ok. He didn’t want to talk about it. Michael didn’t know what to do, how do you help someone after something like that?

So, he lay down on the cot, his eyes still trained on Alex’s back, and pretended he couldn’t hear the sniffling coming from the bed.

* * *

White light. It filled his vision completely, and he felt overwhelming fear grip his body. He couldn’t move. He tried, but it was like iron bands were holding him in place. His body was smaller, and he still had both legs. There was a body visible in the light. It was the outline of a woman, and she was reaching for him, both arms extended.

“Momma? Momma, don’t leave!” his voice was small, he could feel his throat closing up, emotion clogging it. “Mom, I need you, please don’t leave me here. Don’t leave me with him please!” Tears were flowing fully now; he never could fully control his emotions when he was this little. He felt a hand on his back, another gripping his shoulder so hard that he knew he would have bruises tomorrow.

“Mom, he’s going to kill me, please! Take me with you!” He was sobbing. If his body could move, he would be curled up on the ground, hugging his knees.

The hand gripped his shoulder harder, if that was possible, and he heard a deep voice start speaking over his cries.

“Samantha! Samantha, you don’t get to leave us! GET BACK HERE!”

The light turned blinding. The outline of his mother started to move away; her arms still reaching out to him. He was squinting into the light, but tears were still streaming down his cheeks, dripping down his chin.

Alex sat up in bed, screaming. He was taking deep shuddering breathes, hands clutching his chest. He could see his mom still moving away from him in his mind’s eye. He couldn’t focus his vision, but there was a figure moving nearby. There was a light that was shining, backlighting the golden hair on the figure. It was close, but not touching him.

“-lex. Alex. Are you with me?” The voice came into focus at the same time as his sight. Michael was there, kneeling by the bedside, looking desperate to pull him into a hug. Alex took a deep breath and swallowed hard. He was slowly pushing the feelings deep down, back into the little box of emotions in his head.

“I’m ok. I’m good.” Alex kept his eyes on his hands, folding them in his lap. “It was just a dream. No need to worry. Go back to bed Guerin.”

Michael didn’t move from the bedside. Alex took one breath, then another. Just one more, he told himself. Finally, he tore his eyes off his hands and looked over at Michael.

There wasn’t pity, just concern. Alex took another breath, feeling like he couldn’t get this broken glass sensation out of his lungs. They locked eyes and after a silent minute Michael nodded. He got up from the squat by the bed and went back over to the cot in the corner, turning off the light as he passed it. Alex sighed, and laid his head back down. A screech sounded from the corner. Alex turned over in the bed so that he was facing Michael and the cot. He saw Michael backing up, pulling the cot over to him.

“Guerin, what are you doing? I don’t need you over here.”

“You’re not alone Alex. I’m staying here.” He flopped down onto the cot on his back, and stared at the ceiling, pointedly refusing to look at Alex.

He huffed out a laugh but felt infinitely better knowing that Michael was nearby. That was another thought that was shoved deep into the emotions box. He started nodding off, feeling warm and wrapped up in the blankets, listening to Michael’s breathing start to even out.

“Why are you doing this Alex?” Michael was quiet and curious, and Alex felt his heart swell at the softness in his voice.

“What do you mean? Doing what?” He whispered back, rolling over to look at Michael better. His eyes were closed, but a small frown was present on his face.

“Alex, this town has been terrible to you. We’ve been here for less than a day and you’ve already had hate thrown at you. So why are we here? Why do you put yourself through this? Not only here, but also in D.C.. I know that you’ve heard what they say about you at the bureau.” Alex studied Michael’s face as Michael spoke, but his expression stayed neutral.

He took a deep shuddering breath. The broken glass sensation in his lungs was back, but he wanted to push through it so badly. God, he wanted to open up to someone. He hadn’t done this in years.

“One week, when I was twelve, my dad went on a trip. He was gone for a week. That was the best week of my life. He had taken my brothers with him, so it was just me and my mom. I got to sleep in, she made pancakes for me every morning, the special kind with chocolate chips.”

Michael’s lips twitched up into a smile at Alex’s mention of that, it looked soft and sweet. “We got to celebrate and just be. Her and I were always closer than anyone else in our family. My brothers worship my dad, so mom and me? We were so free. And then, the night my dad and brothers got back,”

Alex choked on his words; he could feel tears pricking at the sides of his eyes. In the dark he let them go, Michael couldn’t see him crying anyway. “The night my dad and brothers got back, about fifteen minutes before my family got back, they came for her.”

“They?” Michael’s eyes were still closed, but he was frowning again.

“There was this, this bright light. Blinding. I was frozen. I couldn’t, I couldn’t move. And the light. It took her from me. She didn’t want to leave me Michael. I should have saved her, but I couldn’t. I was so scared.”

“Alex.” He looked over at Michael to see he was staring at him, intently, but still so soft. “You were twelve Alex. You couldn’t have stopped them even if you tried.”

“I should have tried though; I should have tried.” Alex was crying again, and he hated it. He shouldn’t be showing how weak he was already, in front of someone who knew him so little.

Slowly, like he was afraid of being burned, Michael reached up, and set his hand on the side of the bed. Alex stared at it, it was just sitting there, an open invitation. Alex waited until Michael’s breathing had steadied out, and then he waited another half hour. Then, and only then, did Alex reach out and allow the tips of his fingers to brush Michaels. He just let them rest there, gently, almost allowing himself to take comfort in his hand being held, but still not fully believing he deserved it.

Sleep took him slowly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael has some thinking to do, and another familiar face is seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Chapter Notes:  
> There is a very very brief description of an autopsy taking place, I will be adding an appropriate tag, but if that bothers you it happens near the end starting at *Michael could see his arms flexing* and ending at *Michael had to look away*.
> 
> General Notes:  
> So, if you don't follow me on tumblr then you may be wondering why this chapter took me two weeks to get out. Well, to be honest I had a lot going on in my life, and that on top of my opinion on episode 2x06 I decided I needed a bit of a break. I should be posting every week again now, I got some of my motivation back.
> 
> Also, I feel like this needs to be addressed: as this is an AU I will NOT be including the storyline that was present in 2x06. This is a fic I want to enjoy, and I did not enjoy that. I hope you understand.

The tips of his fingers tingled where they lay on the bed above him. The staticky feeling that was on this side of painful. Why were his fingers buzzing like this? Surely Alex’s touch couldn’t affect him this much. He groaned as more solid consciousness found him, flinging his arm over his eyes to keep out the blaze of a sunbeam in his eyes. With disappointment sinking in he realized Alex wasn’t touching his hand, it had just gone numb in the night.

Michael felt his heart stutter to a stop. _Alex. Fuck_. He sat up straight, nearly causing the cot to flip him over onto the floor. He whipped over to his right side, where Alex had laid and opened his soul to him last night.

Gone.

“ _Fuck.”_ It wasn’t any louder than a whisper, but it seemed to echo back to him in the empty room. “Shit,” Michael stumbled out of his cot grabbing his jeans he’d left crumpled on the floor last night, pulling them on as fast as he could. Where would he have gone? God, Alex had been so distraught during last night’s conversation. He flinched, the specifics of the conversation hitting him in the chest.

Michael’s knees gave out beneath him, and he landed hard at the feet of the bed. Out of habit he curled his hands into his hair, tugging slightly, worry engulfing him.

_They_ had taken Alex’s mother. Michael could feel the bile at the back of his throat, and he gagged a bit at the thought. He knew who _they_ were.

It had to be them, his kind. Alex had even unknowingly told him that one had a similar power as himself. Someone had frozen Alex in place, making him watch helplessly as his mother was ripped away from him. 

Were they all just destined to be monsters, beings who break up families and terrorize children?

Michael’s skin felt suddenly too hot, his jeans tight and restricting against his body. He heard a rattling behind him, _the cot is floating,_ he thought distantly. He needed to get this under control, he needed to go find Alex.

The doorknob turned and he jumped to his feet, the cot clattering to the floor behind him.

There.

Alex, filling his vision, looking more than a bit haggard now in the light of day. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and Michael wondered if he had gotten any sleep at all during the night.

“Alex?” he choked on the name, “where were you?”

“Worried about me Guerin?” Alex tilted his head and grinned at Michael, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

_YES_ he wanted to scream, he wanted to pull Alex into a hug and never let him out of his sight again.

“You wish. I was just trying to figure out how I was going to put ‘My partner disappeared in the middle of the night and never returned’ in the case report to Valenti.” That earned him a scoff and a little shake of the head, but it did chase the dead look from Alex’s eyes.

_My family put that look there._ His brain whispered to him, his stomach knotting up with sickly guilt. Michael shoved the thoughts away, locking them deep down. He needed to concentrate if he was going to keep the truth from his partner.

“I went down to the Crashdown Cafe and got us some UFDoughnuts and Lunar Lattes.” Alex held up a paper bag with a bright green UFO emblem on the front, and a to-go holder with two coffee cups. Michael’s stomach growled loudly, earning a real grin from Alex. “Some of the best food in town you’ll have, guaranteed. The owner’s great too, I’m pretty sure Arturo threw in a few extras on the house. It’s been so long since I saw him last, he wanted to check up on me.”

Alex sat on the bed, digging into the paper bag and pulling out their food. Alex moaned as he bit into his breakfast, and Michael felt his body heat up at the sound. Alex didn’t seem to notice Michael’s sudden flush; he was looking thoughtfully at the wall with a small frown.

“You’re thinking pretty loud over there Agent. What’s going on in that brain of yours?” Michael knocked his thigh into Alex’s, trying not to relish the closeness between them.

“I saw someone at Crashdown that I didn’t think would still be in town. I figured her and her sister would be long gone by now. It’s just weird to think I may have been the only one to really get out of this place.” The frown cut across Alex’s face, the furrow in his brow deepening.

“Well, not everybody wants to be a big damn hero Alex.” Michael was going for a teasing tone, but he felt Alex stiffen next to him.

“I didn’t join up to be a hero Guerin. I joined because I was hoping I could get information on what happened to my mom.” Alex finished off his doughnut, sucking the icing off the tips of his fingers in a way that sent a shiver down Michael’s spine. He fought his immediate arousal off, now was not the time.

Michael wiped his hands off on his jeans, going to look at the case file to distract himself.

“I figured we would go talk to the coroner today, try to figure out a solid cause of death. A lot of the reports in the file has it listed as no known cause, but we need to at least see if they have a theory on what killed these people.”

Michael nodded along, flipping through the file, trying to avoid looking at the photos at the top of each report. He squinted at the signature that was at the bottom of all but the earliest report, trying to read the messy handwriting.

“Do we know who the coroner is? I can’t read the signature here”

Alex shook his head, taking a huge sip of his coffee.

“No one has updated the county website in years, from what I saw the last guy, the one who did the first report, was called “Jim”.”

A buzzing against his thigh pulled his attention away from his partner on the bed.

**Squad Chat**

**Isobel: Status?**

**Michael: -.-‘ Iz, I’m working on a case, all’s good.**

**Max: I just landed in Santa Fe. Isobel and I are getting a rental car and heading into town today. We should be there in time to meet you for lunch.**

**Isobel: What our dear brother means is, try to shake your partner so we can discuss what we’re going to do about the ~situation~.**

**Michael: I only know one place for food in town. Meet me at the Crashdown Café at 1pm? I should be able to meet you there.**

**Isobel: NO PARTNER**

Michael rolled his eyes and shoved his phone back in his pocket. Alex was looking at him curiously, maybe a bit concerned.

“Everything ok?”

“Yea, just some family drama, no worries.”

* * *

The drive over to the sheriff’s office was a bust, the clerk at the front desk wasting an hour before finally telling them that the coroner was working on a case right now in the mortuary at the hospital. Alex looked calm and collected as usual, but Michael could see that he was silently seething. His shoulders were tense, there were stress lines in the corners of his mouth, and he was clenching his hands. Michael felt himself ticking off the boxes in his brain, Alex was pissed.

A gust of air smelling of formaldehyde hit them as they exited the elevator on the bottom floor. Alex’s nose scrunched up at the stench, but he kept pressing ahead, stride steady. Michael held open the door, getting a small smile from Alex for his effort.

“Just a second!” a voice called out from the brightly lit exam table in the corner. The man was well built and muscular, Michael could see his arms flexing as he sawed into the sternum on the body in front of him. Michael had to look away, mortuary visits were always his least favorite part of the job.

He watched as Alex’s face transformed from dark and angry to curious in a matter of seconds.

“What?” he whispered to his partner next to him. Alex shook his head but didn’t say anything, staring at the man as if he was trying fit together a particularly complicated puzzle.

The coroner put down his saw, the clink of metal against metal demanding Michael’s attention. He snapped his gloves off, flicking them in one swift motion into the “hazardous waste” bucket nearby. He slipped the face mask off, revealing chiseled features and pouty lips. His gaze slipped quickly over Michael, and settled on Alex, mouth forming a small “O” of surprise. He was staring intently at Alex, and Michael hated him immediately for it.

“Kyle?” 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a bit more about Kyle, and the siblings are all back together!

It turns out Kyle knew Alex in high school.

“Alex!” The coroner threw open his arms as if to move to hug Alex, who flinched away from the man.

“Bro, how’ve you been? It’s been years.”

Kyle advanced, body language open and inviting, but Michael not-so-subtly moved to block Alex from him.

“I can handle it Guerin” Michael heard his partner mutter from behind him and felt Alex shift to the side so he could better see the man in front of them.

“Well, I’d say I was excited to see you again “bro”, but the last time I saw you one on one you fucking punched me at prom. Forgive me if I’m not overly enthusiastic” Alex folded his arms over his chest, chin up, a calculating look on his face. Michael stiffened next to him, anger roiling at the thought of anyone hitting Alex.

“Plus, you’re covered in gore, I just watched you pull your arms out of a man’s chest. I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole right now Kyle, let alone hug you.” Kyle, in his defense, at least looked ashamed of himself.

“Look, I’m not like that anymore Alex. I don’t, I don’t know why I treated you like that back then.” He looked pleadingly up at Alex, and Michael wondered briefly what it would be like to have Alex completely cut him out of his life like he’d done to the man in front of them. His stomach ached at the thought. No, he wouldn’t let that happen. They were partners.

“Because I’m gay. And you were scared that if people saw you hanging out with me, they would think you were gay too. And, if we are going back to when you _started_ being a total ass, you also didn’t want to hang out with the freak who believed in aliens.” Alex was brunt and straight forward, giving no room for arguments. Michael willed himself not to react to the statement, even though Kyle and Alex were so caught up in their argument that he doubted if they would notice.

“Alex, look, I-“

“We’ve got some questions to ask you Kyle.” Alex cut his apology off abruptly, looking over at Michael for support. “We’re working on a case, FBI, about a series of murders here. We’ll wait out front so you can get out of, those.” He waived his hand in a general direction of Kyle’s bloodstained clothes. The coroner himself looked down, seemingly surprised that he still had his scrubs on.

“Right, I’ll just, I’ll go then. See you out in the waiting area.” Kyle shot them an anxious look but walked off to what Michael assumed was the changing room in the back. Only when he was out of sight did Alex seem to relax a little bit. He scrubbed his hand over his face, as if it would rub away the stress from his mind.

“You ok there Alex?” Michael took a chance and reached out a hand to rest on Alex’s shoulder, the only modicum of comfort he thought Alex would allow. To his delight, his partner didn’t shrug off his touch.

“Yea, just, not how I pictured coming out to you, I guess. Everyone here knows, I wasn’t exactly deep in the closet in high school.” He looked up at Michael, worry pinching his face, showing a small furrow between his brows. He bit his lip as he looked away, taking Michael’s moment of silence for disapproval. Alex went to move out from under his grip, but Michael held him steady.

“I’m bisexual Alex.” His partner looked up at him, surprise showing behind his eyes as he stared at Michael. “It’s not _that_ complicated.” He kept his tone gentle, not wanting to break whatever was occurring between them. He preened at the soft smile Alex gave him before he shuddered from the cold and broke the spell.

“Come on Guerin, let’s get out of this morgue.”

Kyle met them in the much warmer waiting room, upstairs in the main part of Roswell General Hospital. He was dressed in casual clothes, a tight-fitting sweater and dark jeans. Michael couldn’t help but notice he seemed to be paying particular interest in Alex. It made his insides clench uncomfortably; bitter jealousy swirling even though he knew he had no right feeling it.

“You said this was for a case? Maybe we should take this somewhere more, private?” Kyle kept his focus on Alex. Michael wanted to punch him in his dumb perfect face.

Alex, however, remained unimpressed.

“Really Kyle? Couldn’t think of anything better while you were in the changing room?”

“Just trying to break the ice” Kyle grinned shamelessly at the two, and Alex let out a surprised bark of laughter. “Come on, my office is over here” he motioned with a nod of his head towards a hallway of private rooms.

The room itself was neat and tidy, as perfectly put together as the coroner himself. Michael couldn’t help noticing the row of commendations and certificates that lined the walls, huge bookcases that were filled with medical journals, and a state-of-the-art computer, the kind that Michael had put in a request for twice at the FBI. _Great_ , thought Michael, _even more to be jealous of_.

“So, what kind of questions do you have for a small-town doctor like me?” Kyle leaned forward on his forearms, hands folded in front of him, looking from Alex to Michael curiously.

“I thought you were the coroner?” Michael leaned forward as well, subtly shifting himself into interrogation mode.

“I’m both” Kyle seemed un-intimidated by Michael. “I was elected after my dad passed away, but, in a place like this, there’s usually not many coroner duties for me to do. It’s kind of a part-time job, though I have been… unusually busy the past few years. You caught me on an off day.”

“Do you recognize any of these people?” Alex pulled out the case folder and handed over to Kyle.

“Of course, I did the autopsies on all but this last one, and it looks like” Kyle squinted at the signature at the bottom of the page “dad did that one.”

“That’s terrible handwriting you’ve got there Doc, really living up to the stereotype huh?” Alex shot Michael a glare at that, not bothering to hide his eye-roll.

Kyle gave a little snort of laughter, and Alex turned his glare on him instead.

“If you did the autopsies, then I’m assuming you have some sort of theory on their death beside “unknown causes”. If I remember right from school, you tend to want a more “normal” solution to problems.”

“Honestly Alex, every one of these cases were peculiar. Physically it looks like these people just, had their energy drained from them. Other than the handprints,” he set the folder down and pointed at the handprint on the top picture, “there was nothing wrong with these people. It was like, they just had no more life in them left.”

“Did your dad ever talk to you about the first murder? Did he have any similar theories?” Alex was focused in now, not taking his eyes off of Kyle in front of him. Kyle scoffed, leaning back in his chair, running his hands through his hair.

“He used to tell me it was aliens. And… he told me that if I ever saw a handprint to go to Manes” Alex’s eyebrows shot up, almost disappearing into the fringe of his hair. Kyle shook his head at the expression on his face. “Alex, come on. My old man was losing it. He had a tumor; he wasn’t fully aware of anything anymore. You can’t really believe that” he gestured at the file in front of him “all of this was aliens?”

“And what, you think that this was just coincidence? All these people just died of what “no more life”? That’s ridiculous.”

“Alex,” Kyle’s tone was soft and a bit patronizing. “aliens aren’t real.”

Michael shot a look to his partner; Alex stiffened and took a sharp intake of breath at the statement. Michael wondered how many times he had heard that in his life.

The room went silent, and Michael could almost feel the electric anger pulsing off his partner towards the doctor.

Five sharp notes broke the silence.

“Shit.” Michael’s phone was ringing in his pocket, distracting them all from the cloud of intensity that had descended in the room. He looked down to see Isobel’s name flashing on his screen. He looked up at Alex wide eyed, and he had one eyebrow quirked up at him, questioningly. His phone pulsed in his hand, and he glanced down to see that it was ten past one.

“I have to take this” He shot up out of his chair and left the room quickly, not bothering to give any other excuse to the two men behind him.

“Iz, look I’m sorry” he hissed as soon as the door closed against his back.

“You’re late Michael! Come on, we haven’t seen you in person in at least a year and you stand us up?” He sighed as he leaned his head against the wood grain of the door, at least she had a playful tone with him.

“Tell him he’s seriously missing out on some sibling bonding time over here!” Max was in the background, sounding cheerful, Iz must have him on speaker.

“Let me tell my partner, and I’ll be over in ten. Just get me whatever from the cafe.” He hung up before she could protest.

He opened the door to see Kyle looking down at the file, a red blush coloring his neck and tips of his ears, while Alex stared, unimpressed at him from his seat.

“Let me guess, more “family drama”. Alex put in air quotes, as if the scorn in his voice wasn’t enough to show he was annoyed. Michael flinched at the tone and looked up at Alex from under his eyelashes, shooting him an apologetic look.

“They, uh,” he pulled at his collar, it felt uncomfortably tight from embarrassment, “they _might_ be in town. My siblings I mean. They want to meet up, and I thought we’d have this wrapped up before lunch. I didn’t think it’d be an issue.”

Alex gave him a look he couldn’t quite parse and seemed to come to a decision.

“It’s not. Go on, have fun with your family. I’ll stay here and catch up with Kyle. It’s been a while; would you be good with dropping me off at the hotel later Kyle? Maybe after dinner?”

“No!” Both men turned and looked at Michael, Kyle curious, Alex more incredulous than before, if that was even possible. “I mean, I can come get you after lunch. You don’t have to bother Doc here for too long.”

“It’s ok really, I want to catch up with your partner here.” Kyle extended his hand so that it brushed Alex’s a little on the desk. Michael’s gut clenched at the sight and some of the certificates on the wall started to rattle.

The other two looked around watching the things move on the wall. _Get it together Guerin_. He took a few deep breaths, trying to get himself to mellow out enough to get back under control. There. The rattling stopped as suddenly as it started.

“Huh, must’ve been a train.” Kyle sounded unsure of himself, neither Michael nor Alex said anything to contradict him. Shooting one last look at the man, Michael felt his jaw clench. He spun on his heel, and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

The bell ringing on the door was too loud and cheerful for the mood he was in. Michael tangled his fingers in his hair, tugging gently at the curls while he thought as he made his way to the booth his siblings were in. Isobel was waving cheerfully at him, and Max was leaning over the table, stuffing his face with a cheeseburger. He looked up and grinned at Michael, looking like an overexcited child with too much energy bouncing in his seat.

He had to clamp down on showing a smile himself, he still had anger in the pit of his stomach at having to leave Alex behind.

“Scoot over.” He kicked at Max’s foot, stuffing his hands in his pockets, trying not to look like a pouting toddler. His brother moved sideways in the booth and let Michael flop down next to him.

“We got you a Crashdown Burger and a Little Green Man Shake” Isobel gestured to the food that was left in the middle of the table.

“So, what’s the plan?” He snatched the food, unwrapping it with a flourish, and looked at Isobel moodily.

“What, no Hello Isobel? How’ve you been Isobel? That’s a great nail polish color you have on today. We’re still siblings Michael, aren’t you happy to see us?” She leaned forward setting her head on her hand, looking expectantly at him. He stuffed some fries in his mouth, savored the delicious salty crispness, and pinned his sister with a glare. She gave him a saccharine smile in return. Their sibling stare-off was broken by a woman, Michael guessed to be in her late 20s, dressed in a ridiculous mint dress and an apron shaped like an alien face. She had headband on that had looked like little antennae, the nametag on her outfit showing “Liz” on it.

Michael felt Max still next to him in the booth. He looked at him out of the corner of his eye and saw that Max was staring up at the woman, he could almost see Max’s heart through the expression in his eyes.

“Everything good over here?” Liz had a pitcher of water in one hand, the other was on her hip. Michael heard Max try to suck in a breath to reply, and immediately choke on his food.

“Jesus Max, get it together!” Michael thumped on his back, as he wheezed next to him. “I think he’s gonna need some water in a minute.” He smiled up at the woman – Liz – who was looking unimpressed with the trio so far. She filled the glass that Isobel held out to her and walked away, smirking slightly at Max who was still staring breathlessly.

“Really Max? We’ve been here for a total of 40 minutes in this town and you’ve fallen for the waitress?” Isobel hissed over to him.

“What? No!” Max looked at both of them with wide eyes, but Michael didn’t know if he was trying to convince them or himself.

“Max, please, I haven’t seen you look like that since you bought that Gillian Anderson poster in high school.” Michael smirked as he popped a few more French fries in his mouth.

“Boys, boys, focus please.” She snapped her fingers to interrupt Max’s rebuttal, “We need to figure out what to do about Michael’s partner.”

Fear pooled low in Michael’s stomach as he looked at the serious look on his Isobel’s face, he knew what that look meant.

“Iz, we can’t just wipe him. He’s a good man, he’s just trying to find out what happened to his family. He told me more last night. I got more information; he could be valuable. He might be able to help us” He knew he sounded desperate, and he didn’t care. Isobel appraised him slowly, then a knowing look spread across her face. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in the booth.

“Michael, really? You too? Am I the only one in this family that doesn’t immediately fall in love with the first person I see in this town?”

“Iz, it’s not, it’s not like that.” She pierced him with a look, as Max spun around in the booth to look at him too. “Look. He told me last night that his mother was taken when he was little.” Michael felt his heart in his chest clench at the memory of the heartbreak on Alex’s face. He lowered his voice and leaned in so only his siblings could hear.

“Our people, people _like us_ took his family away from him, in front of him. He was just a kid. We can’t take anything more from him. Please Isobel, Alex has suffered enough.” He could hear the pleading tone was back in his voice, and he swallowed hard around the emotions swelling in his throat. 

Isobel maintained eye contact with him, and he could feel her gently trying to probe at his thoughts, his memories. _Fine_ he thought, _if it will convince her to leave Alex alone_. He opened his mind up, allowing her in. She reached out and grabbed Max’s hand over the table and brought him in with her. Michael didn’t know how long they sat there like that, connected through his thoughts, but it was long enough to show them part of his talk with Alex last night, and the determination that Alex had to find information on his family, something so similar to the ache and need that they all felt. They knew what it was like, that open chasm of hurt after losing their family, and they could sense that in Alex even through Michael’s memories.

Isobel gasped as she pulled herself and Max out, Michael felt mildly queasy and he downed some of his mint milkshake to chase it away. She looked over at him, her eyes welling up as they made eye contact.

“Ok” she whispered “ok, we won’t wipe him. But we need to do something Michael.”

“I think we should tell him; he deserves to know the truth.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decisions are made, places are visited, and things are said.

“Michael are you crazy? We can’t just _tell_ him.” Isobel had jolted back in the booth, but kept her voice low, her words just for her brothers.

“Why not? He already knows part of it. Or he thinks he does. And if he digs any deeper into this case then he’s going to find out the rest of it. He could be putting himself in danger trying to figure out the truth, and Izzy, I don’t know if I can handle that.” Michael’s heart was in his throat, he needed them to agree with this, but he didn’t want to reveal this _thing_ without their approval.

“You really like this guy huh?” Max nudged him with his shoulder, giving him a soft look that given in any other situation Michael would have gagged dramatically and shoved him away. Instead he met Max’s eyes trying to show him silently how much Alex getting hurt would devastate him and nodded. “Ok, if you trust him. I’m in.”

God Michael was never happier to have a hopeless romantic, poetry reading, believing in love at first sight brother. He gave him a weak smile which fell when he heard Isobel scoff from her seat.

“God, you two are both saps.” She stuck them with a glare, that showed no signs of giving up her position. “Michael, he’s just some guy. You don’t need to throw this” she motioned to the three of them with two perfectly manicured nails, “away just for a random person.”

He looked up at her from under his lashes shaking his head slightly, he had to get her to understand, he had to.

“Is _there_ really nobody in this world that you wouldn't _risk_ everything to save? Alex isn’t some random person. Not anymore, maybe not ever, this feels like more Iz.”

It was a low blow he knew it. They had always thought that it would just be the three of them forever. But Michael had found something here with Alex, he knew. He hadn’t felt this much about anyone before, outside of the two people here with him. They craved this, they wanted more for themselves, and now he had found it he couldn’t let it slip through his fingers.

He watched her face fall at his words, he knew she would take it hard; the trio were so protective of each other. When they had decided to split up their lives and go where they wanted without each other, they honestly didn’t know if they could survive it. It made them feel like magnets being pulled apart, still feeling the pull of each other as they left. This somehow felt more, permanent in a way. This wasn’t physical distance, but emotional, and he didn’t know if she could fathom it.

“Does he make you happy Michael? Really, actually happy? That’s all I really want.”

“Yes” the word was out before he could even think, before he knew his mouth had opened “Yea, he does. I look at him and I feel this spark, deep within me. I want to know him, and him to know me. I want to help him so much, to ease some of the pain that I know he’s feeling. I want _him_ to be happy. And I can’t help him with this between us.”

Isobel took a huge breath, in and out. Michael sat, his left foot tapping, barely keeping his hands from tugging on his hair. She looked at him.

“Ok. Ok, tell him.”

* * *

The light in the hotel room was on when he pulled into the parking lot with the rental car. It was late now; the siblings had stayed in the café for a while before heading off to do some sight seeing with Isobel. She had insisted on “seeing the town they’d ‘arrived’ to” all those years ago. To be honest, Michael had needed the distraction. In no world did he want to sit in an empty hotel room, going over his impending conversation with Alex in his head, while waiting for the man himself to get back from “dinner” with Kyle. That sounded like a special type of torture made specifically for one Michael Guerin.

So instead, he went through the small town with his family. At Isobel’s insistence they had started with the International UFO Museum and Research Center which was more of a kitschy spot that anything really educational. They got a few good laughs at the fake displays and outlandish theories there, until they reached the end. The sight of an alien autopsy conducted by government agents sucked the air out of the room, along with their fun. They left silently; mood soured by the plastic scene.

In an effort to raise their spirits Max insisted that they visit the Roswell Museum and Art Center. There was a little bit of something in the place for all three of them. Modern art from local artists decorated the walls and first few rooms, drawing Isobel in immediately. Max wondered away and found the small collection of more well-known artists, including Georgia O’Keefe. And Michael. Michael found the exhibit on Dr. Goddard, the man who pioneered rocket travel, complete with a recreation of his workshop. Michael found himself cataloging tools and items he might need for study later. Max and Isobel found him in there, wide eyed and grinning like a kid.

“Hey, come here, I think you’ll want to see this.” Isobel tugged him by his hand to a small area of the museum and ignored his protests as she payed a bit extra to get into an exhibit. They sat down in a strange circular room, the chairs pointed up at the sky, air conditioning blasting and cooling their skin from the hot New Mexico air.

“What is this?” He whispered to her, only to see her put her finger to her lips, winking at him.

“Shh, you’ll see.”

The room went dark, and then the curved ceiling he was forced to look up at exploded with color. It was a planetarium, with the night sky bursting above him. A lecture on theoretical physics and astronomy played around them in surround sound while the stars danced for what felt like him alone. He listened intently, recognizing in the lecture theories he had studied in his apartment in D.C. on lonely nights. It was fantastic.

And now he was here in the parking lot of their hotel. Trying to keep his breathing under control, he went up to meet Alex.

* * *

Michael found him pouring over the file, hunched over the table, looking ruffled but gorgeous. Michael could tell he had been running his hands through his hair, it was fluffed and little bits of it were sticking up in odd places. Alex had his glasses on and was scratching at a spot behind his ear with an ink pen, messing up more of his hair as he did so. He’d changed out of his FBI “Official Agent” suit, and into a soft looking sweater and jeans. He was obviously dressed to stay in for the rest of the night, and Michael could feel himself relax a bit just seeing Alex looking so in his element. He hated the thought that he was about to ruin this perfect image in front of him, but now he had his sibling’s approval he could feel their secret burning in his chest.

He sat down heavily on the foot of the bed, taking a second to really look at Alex. There were bags under his eyes still, and Michael felt a pang of guilt, he hoped that maybe Alex could get some closure tonight, and with it, sleep.

“Hey” his hands were shaking, and he felt his gut clench, he suddenly felt unprepared for this conversation, but if he couldn’t do it now, he never would.

Alex hummed back in response, not looking up from the file.

“How was your dinner with _Kyle_?” He tried and failed to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Alex sighed heavily, set his glasses down, and in a gesture that Michael had become familiar with, scrubbed his face with both hands.

“He spent the whole time first telling me how sorry he was about high school, and then dropping not so subtle hints that he thinks I need to find ‘someone, anyone really Alex’ to talk to.” Alex leaned in the small chair, and Michael could hear the popping of his back even from where he sat. “You probably agree with him huh? I seem to remember someone thinking I was crazy for all of this.”

Michael noticed that Alex was steadfastly not making eye contact with him, instead choosing to roll his shoulders loose from where he was sitting at the table.

He got up and crossed the room, pulling out the second chair and settling next to Alex at the table.

“I don’t think you’re crazy Alex. I never did.” At this Alex looked up sharply, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, almost glaring at Michael.

“But you said-“

“No, _you_ said. I just didn’t correct you. Look, I need- I want- God, I have to do this,” he chuckled softly as he pushed himself off the chair and began pacing the floor of their hotel room. He never could stay still when he was nervous, and instead of trying to stop himself from moving he used all his concentration on trying to get this out in the open.

“Alex…” He looked over at his partner who was staring silently at him, and Michael desperately wished he could just open his mind to Alex like he could with Isobel.

“Come on Guerin, spit it out.”

Michael buried his fingers in his own curls, the sharp tug at the roots grounding him.

“Alex, I, me, my family, all my siblings, we’re aliens.” He stopped short in front of Alex in the chair, breathing heavily and feeling like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. He was expecting a lot of reactions from the man. Disbelief, maybe shock, but he definitely wasn’t expecting the mix of anger and hurt that flashed across his partner’s face.

“Fuck you Guerin.” Alex spit out at him from behind gritted teeth, and he shot up from the table, moving for the first time since Michael had gotten back to the room. “Look if you didn’t want to tell me the truth about you and your family you could have just said so. God, this is so typical, I should've known. Another fucking person thinking I’m insane and either mocking me or pitying me. I don’t need your goddamn pity Michael Guerin. What I do need, what I think I _deserve_ , is the truth!” Alex had moved into Michael’s space anger growing with every breath.

“Alex!” He was desperate to get Alex to understand, “Alex, sometimes the truth is weird! Sometimes the truth is… out there!” He waived his hands as he spoke, gesturing as he searched for the right words to calm Alex down.

“God, I’m such an idiot. I thought you trusted me. I thought you _believed_ me.” Alex started moving around the room, grabbing clothes from the floor and shoving them into his bag.

“I DO! I trust you so much it’s stupid Alex! Me? My family? We trust no one! We can’t afford to! But I trust _you_ , and I am telling you the truth.” His voice broke on the last word, and a sob caught in his chest. This had all gone so bad so fast.

Alex was staring at him, tears in his eyes, he stood there shaking head to toe. And that, that broke Michael’s chest wide open. He thought briefly that if he looked down, he might see his heart in his chest aching and exposed.

He took a step forward, reaching out for Alex, and out of the corner of his eye he saw something move at the same time he did. He turned his attention to the movement and saw that it was the phone on the bedside table, the one that Alex had made sure to unplug the first day to stop eavesdroppers, floating beside him.

“Michael?” Alex sounded so soft in his query. Michael looked back to see Alex's gaze move from the phone to him, confusion on his face evolving into shock, shock moving slowly to something Michael didn’t understand. “Michael are you doing that?”

And Michael, all he really could do was nod.

“Yea, yea I am” he breathed out slowly, suddenly feeling a bit like he was talking to a spooked animal.

“Ok. Ok I need to just,” Alex took a deep shuddering breath, “I need to go get some air.”

He began backing away from Michael at that, and it felt too much like he was losing him. Like if he let the door close with Alex on the other side then he would never see him again.

“Wait! Wait, Alex, don’t go. Please” Michael was moments away from just collapsing to his knees and begging. But Alex was still moving away from him, not turning his back to him.

He didn’t think. Desperation, pain, and uncertainty choked him, making him foolish. He just wanted to stop Alex from leaving. Michael reached out and for one agonizing second held Alex completely still, unable to move, with his powers.

If he thought he knew what anguish was before, it was nothing compared to watching Alex’s face morph from agitation to panic. Alex was _afraid_ of him. A knife of agony and regret stabbed through him, and within the instant he realized what he’d done, Michael let Alex go.

He watched, numb, as Alex took a second to process what had happened and bolted out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I may have earned the angst tag on this one.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Completing a new chapter in order to ignore a Big Event that is happening tomorrow? It's more likely than you'd think!

His breath was coming out in quick puffs as he left the room, the door slamming a bit behind him. Alex knew that he needed to get his breathing under control, or he would be dangerously close to hyperventilating. He needed to get out, every part of him screaming that he had to leave, had to get out, had to be safe. He made his way out to the porch of the hotel where he had clocked a bench out front. There was a security camera that someone had tried to hide under the concrete topper, and he took solace for once that he was on camera. Michael surely wouldn’t try to confront him not only in public, but also on film. He was safe here, for now.

Finally, he allowed himself to break, just enough to let his feelings seep out a bit at a time. Alex tucked his head in between his knees and buried his hands into his hair, taking shuddering gasps as he broke. Slowly, achingly, his thoughts began to come back to the forefront of his mind.

That feeling, it hadn’t changed, his nightmares hadn’t lessened the sensation. That feeling of his body being held completely still, wanting desperately to move, just move, and not being allowed to. He shuddered forcefully at the thought. God, he hated not being in control, he loathed not having control of anything, let alone his own body. He processed the thought, allowing himself to feel the fear grip his heart, acknowledging it, and then the hard part, letting it go. He knew that was what his therapist would tell him. Allow yourself to feel it, acknowledge it, let it go. But it wasn’t just the fear, there was a deep lingering _betrayal_ that filled his veins. He had trusted Michael, allowed him a glimpse of his inner core, and for what? To reveal himself to someone who had hurt people like him.

“No.” He startled himself a bit at that, not expecting the word to come out at all, let alone that strong of conviction in his tone. But he knew he was right; he couldn’t imagine Michael hurting people on purpose. But he’d obviously been wrong about Michael already, he couldn’t take chances with the man… alien.

A second thought floated forward telling him that he was a bit calmer, and he noted absently that his breathing had steadied out and his heart rate had slowed. Alex knew his hands were shaking, they always did after a panic attack, and he’d need them steady for what he was going to do next. He allowed himself to sit up straight on the bench, and patted his hip, feeling safer realizing he’d managed to grab his gun before leaving. In his left hand he felt the cut of hard plastic, and he looked down and realized he’d also snatched the room key before running out.

He watched almost detached, as his hands stopped shaking violently and slowed into small tremors. Taking one last deep breath, he pushed himself up off the bench and aimed himself back towards the room.

He needed answers.

* * *

Alex approached the door as quietly as possible. He knew the tactics already, and now he had the additional support of knowing who he was dealing with. He didn’t think Michael was violent, the last Alex had seen of his partner he looked desperate, reaching out with his hand as Alex ran. So, he decided to listen to the room first, and hopefully no weapons had to be drawn.

He first registered the sound of rushing, something was moving in the room, and quickly. Underneath that were cries, deep sobs ringing out from under the door. Worry gripped him suddenly, and Alex knew he needed to get in there quickly.

He shouldered the door open forcefully, drawing his weapon as he entered the room. Alex stopped dead at the sight before him, dropping his hands by his sides, holstering his gun.

Michael was sitting on the floor, back up against the bed, curled in on himself. He was taking deep shuddering breaths releasing them into full body sobs. His hands were tangled in his hair, gripping the curls so tight that his knuckles had turned white. Everything in the room that wasn’t attached to cords or anchored to the floor were rapidly flying around in a protective sphere around Michael. Alex could see that Michael was rocking himself a bit, and he knew he would need to approach him slowly.

“Guerin” he slowly approached, hands out, palms up, trying to look non-threatening. The phone missed him by a hair, forcing him to take a step back.

“Guerin, I need you to calm down so we can figure this out.” He looked around, calculating anything he could use that may help him. Almost everything in the room was now in the middle of the tornado surrounding Michael.

 _Ok, may have to recalculate this_. Alex took a settling breath, and lowered himself onto the floor, opposite of Michael. His leg gave a twinge as he went down, but he kept his face even, not wanting to show any more weakness than necessary.

“Michael, I need you to look at me.” At the sound of his first name, the man across from him gave a small whine, and Alex felt his heart clench in response.

“I know you don’t want to, but I need you to please listen to me. You’re safe, I’m not going to hurt you, but I need you to calm down before you hurt me.” Alex watched as Michael’s hands slowly loosened from his hair, he was shaking slightly but he finally looked up. As he did the swirling items slowed, and after a beat or two, dropped to the floor.

Michael looked wrecked. His face was covered in tears, his eyes were a bit bloodshot, and Alex was startled to see a drip of blood was steadily coming from his nose. They locked eyes as Michael looked up from his knees, and Alex could see worry and hurt warring there.

“I wouldn’t hurt you Alex” Michael croaked out; his voice wrecked from sobbing. He shook his head slowly, lower lip trembling as tears filling his eyes again. “I would _never_ hurt you.”

Alex searched his face looking for some sort of lie but found none. He had to swallow hard around the sudden knot of emotion choking him and nodded mutely.

“You left. I thought, I thought you were leaving me” Michael’s breath hitched on a sob, and he had to look up at the ceiling to keep his tears from falling.

“I left, yea, but I came back Guerin” Alex wanted to reach out and comfort him, but he could feel the weight of his questions creating a chasm in between them. Even though they were only a few feet apart on the floor they may have well been miles from each other.

He leaned his head back against the wall, suddenly feeling the stress of the day hit him all at once. Alex let his eyes close, listening to Michael’s deep breathing as he tried to calm himself down. Fatigue seeped into his bones as he sat there waiting for his partner to get himself somewhat together. As the breaths across from him evened out he felt a prickling at the back of his neck, the primal sense that someone was watching him shuddering through his spine. Alex opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling for a minute, then two, and then allowed himself to look over at Michael again.

The man across from him was staring, drinking in his features. Alex had the distinct impression he was trying to make sure he was still real, and he felt a hot blush sweep up the back of his neck at the intense gaze.

“We need to talk Guerin.” Michael nodded, still not saying anything, just looking. Alex felt his face soften a bit as he saw Michael’s nose was still dripping steadily. “You’re bleeding.”

Michael startled at that, touching his face, and looking at the blood on his fingers when he felt the wetness there. Alex shook his head and braced himself on the wall before getting shakily to his feet. His leg was aching now from the events of the day, as well as sitting for so long in an uncomfortable position. Not bothering to hide his limp now he moved to the bathroom and grabbed some tissues, not wanting to ruin the towels and leave blood, _alien blood,_ for the staff to bleach out.

He practically collapsed on the bed, tissues in hand, when he saw Michael was still sitting silently on the floor, back against the foot of the bed. Alex leaned over gently and knocked his knee against Michael’s shoulder, grabbing his attention and handing him the supplies he needed to get his face cleaned up. He could hear his partner sniffling a bit as he wiped messily at his face, and when the movement ceased, Alex knew it was time.

“So. You’re an alien.” He kept his tone flat, trying to keep his mind clear to get the facts.

“Yea.”

“And you have powers?” Michael, at his foot, huffed out a rough laugh and shook his head a bit.

“Just have the one. Telekinesis.” He nodded at that, and then realized that Michael couldn’t see his response.

“Ok.”

“Ok?” Michael looked up at him, incredulous. “Really? Just, ok?”

“What do you want me to say Guerin? I’m not gonna fawn all over you just because you have some sort of superpower.” He tried to give a small smile to his partner who was looking at him with something close to wonder at that point. Now that they were looking at each other again, he let himself ask more of Michael. “Do you know where you are from? Like, out there?” He gestured a bit towards the ceiling.

“No, we, all we really know is that we _think_ it was called Antar. When we woke up, we didn’t remember a lot, we couldn’t speak, we just kind of, were.” Michael’s voice had gotten smaller, and he’d looked down, fidgeting with his hands.

“Woke up? What do you mean? You didn’t just arrive here?” At Alex’s question Michael flinched a bit and looked back up at him again.

“Um, no, no. So, you know the crash in 1947?”

“You mean the one the whole town has decided to make a huge monument and a part of society here? The one that inspired a museum, a minor league baseball team name, and my whole fucking job? _That_ crash in 1947?”

“Really? A minor league baseball team is here?”

“Guerin,” Alex huffed out a laugh, rubbing his eyes a bit, “they fucking named the team The Invaders, the mascot is an alien.”

“Wow”

“That, that’s not the point Guerin. Are you telling me that you’re 73 years old?”

“Technically I’m older than that, when we woke up in 1999, we were about 7? 8? So, I’m like 80. But we were in stasis a while, there were some sort of pods that kept us alive. So technically I’m 28.”

Alex lowered his head down into his hands, taking a minute to process his thoughts again. He spoke again after a bit, he had needed to take a few deep breaths to clamp down hard on his emotions.

“So, where is my mother?” Even with his preparation, Alex felt emotion threatening to choke him, but he managed to keep his voice steady.

Michael spun from where he had been sitting, looking desperate and wild. His curls caught the dim light of the room and highlighted his face as he stared up at Alex.

“ _Alex_ ,” he sounded agonized, “That wasn’t me. That wasn’t my family. You have to believe me; we wouldn’t do that to you. We haven’t hur-“ he stopped himself abruptly “we would never do that Alex.” 

“I want to believe you. God Guerin, I _want_ to believe.” Alex shut his eyes tight, trying to get himself together again. He felt a gentle touch as Michael took Alex’s hands in his.

“Let us help you find her.”

Alex’s eyes flew open and he stared, seeing Michael on his knees, still gripping his hands tight, looking earnest and hopeful.

“What?” he managed to rasp out.

“Isobel, my sister, she has telepathy, she can look for clues in your memory. And Max, my brother, he can heal if anyone gets hurt. We can do this. Let us, let _me_ help you find your mom Alex. Once we’re done with our case, we can find her.”

“Why would you do that? Why would you help me like that?”

“You deserve to have a family Alex; you deserve to have people who love you.” Alex felt his body shudder at the words, as if it was physically rejecting Michael’s words. But he wanted his mom back so fiercely he could feel it in his very being.

“Ok. Ok, I think we could work together on that, but Michael, if we do this, if we work together, we need to talk about your powers. You can’t, I don’t want you using them on me. That, that was awful, and I can’t handle that again, I need you to understand that.” He looked up at Michael making him maintain eye contact as he said it. Michael simply nodded back, looking relieved as he agreed easily with Alex’s terms. Alex let out a soft breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, like it was deep in his gut waiting until he knew he was safe to let it out.

“Thank you.” Alex’s voice was so soft he wasn’t sure if Michael could even hear him. But the squeeze to his hands told him he had. “I really need to take my leg off now. And we should get some sleep before we have to start back up tomorrow.”

Michael stood up, and Alex heard him groan from his body aches as he did so. He released the pressure on his leg, took off his prosthetic, and started massaging his sore muscles.

“Fuck” Alex looked up at the soft exclamation from Michael across the room. His partner was standing over the cot, or what _had_ been the cot. It was now a twisted knot of metal at his feet. Michael looked over his shoulder grinning sheepishly at Alex. “I guess I need to go down and get a new cot from the front desk.”

“Guerin,” Alex shook his head, “I think we’re adult enough to share a bed. It’s late and I’m tired, c’mon.” He steadfastly ignored the flutter of his heart, just as he ignored Michael staring at him in disbelief. He noticed the man look away quickly, a blush spreading up to his ears, as Alex took off his jeans and sweater and pulled on a pair of his sweatpants. He knotted the leg of his pants, and slipped under the covers, turning his back to Michael. When he didn’t hear him make any movements, he called over his shoulder,

“Are you gonna keep staring at me or are you going to get over here?” He grinned a bit to himself as he heard Michael quickly shuck his clothes, put on some sweatpants himself, and slip into the spot next to him. “Can you get the lights?” The room went dark without Michael moving, and Alex felt himself relax as the stress of the day slowly fell away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanted some fluff, so fluff is what we'll get. Also, Alex puts some puzzle pieces together.

He woke to a comfortable heat and soft skin resting under his arm the next morning. Michael inhaled sharply, and came back into his body slowly, his mind cataloging the points of contact between his body and Alex’s under the soft downy covers. He knew he tended to spread out in the night, and he blushed furiously at the thought that he’d cuddled with his partner while they were asleep. They were all arms and knees and thighs tangled together, and Michael felt an ache of wanting to wake up like this every morning.

“You’re thinking pretty loud over there Guerin.” Alex’s voice was still rough with sleep, and Michael wondered just how much longer the man had been awake. Not willing to move just yet, Michael forced his eyes open, squinting a bit as they adjusted, and he took in Alex lying next to him.

Then and there Michael decided that there was nothing more beautiful than waking up to Alex Manes looking content and ruffled from a good night’s sleep. His hair was standing up in all different places, and his cheeks were rosy with the warmth trapped there in the bed. Michael blinked a few times taking in the dark eyes staring back at him, one minute they looked a deep chocolate, the next he swore he could see flashes of green and gold. But they were looking at him with trust, and that filled a deep echoing void in his soul he hadn’t even noticed was there until he’d met Alex.

Suddenly the man tangled up next to him did a full body stretch, Michael could hear joints popping as he did so, groaning in contentment at the feel of it. Michael was forcibly reminded of a cat stretching after a nap in the sun.

“ _Michael_ ,” Alex’s voice took on a playful whine as he squirmed under the weight of Michael’s arm, “why are you so hot?”

“Well, I can’t really help it if you find me attractive now can I Alex?”

Alex shot him a glare as he bodily lifted Michael’s arm off of himself, but its seriousness was undercut by the grin that played on Alex’s lips.

“We don’t know why, but all of us have higher than human average body temps. Also, never been sick, so that’s a plus, never have to worry about one night stands and all that.” He shot a smirk over to Alex and earned himself an eyeroll for it.

“Cute Guerin, really.” Alex had maneuvered to the edge of the bed now and was working on getting his prosthetic on. Michael marveled at the long stretches of tan skin over defined muscles in Alex’s back, letting himself look right up until Alex turned around to look at him. “So, now that I’ve been let in on the little galactic secret, do you have a theory about the killings that we’re actually here to solve?”

Michael felt a little bit of the peace he’d been meticulously building in his chest break off at the question, he didn’t want this perfect morning to end just yet. But he’d promised Alex the truth and withholding information from him had nearly cost Michael the man just the night before.

“Actually, yea,” Michael rubbed the back of his neck and sat up straight, nerves suddenly hitting him harder than ever. “Yea Alex, I think I know what happened with the first man in the file.”

Alex shot him a sharp look, paused midway with his shirt draped over one side of his body, leaving part of his chest still exposed.

“What do you mean, ‘think you know what happened’?” Michael flinched at the tone, but knew he needed to keep going.

“When we were younger, during the summer before school was supposed to start, Max, Iz and I were out in the desert.” Alex scooted over at that, getting himself close to Michael who had perched at the edge of the bed, “we’d been separated at that point, the family the other two were with didn’t want me, so they would meet me out there when I would sneak out and camp. One night while we were out there this man, he was drunk and, he grabbed Isobel, and he had a knife, and” Michael felt his voice break and kept his eyes down, picking at his nails as his confession spilled out. He waited for Alex to rage and storm and throw accusations. Instead he felt a vice grip wrap around his shoulders and hold him tight to Alex’s side.

“I’m sorry that happened to you Michael, you and your family, you didn’t deserve to go through that.” He squeezed a bit and Michael felt Alex’s hand solid and tangible on his arm, keeping him grounded in the present. “Did you, was it,” Michael looked up to see Alex biting his lip, trying to get his thoughts in order, but Michael knew what he was asking.

“I’d say we all did it Alex. We were just kids; we had only been out of the pods for a few months at that point. We didn’t know what to do.”

“It was self defense Michael. You were protecting each other. Who knows what that man could have done to you! The three of you! You were so young.” Alex’s tone was flinty, and eyes flashed with anger, sending a shiver down Michael’s spine. Alex kept his eye contact until Michael nodded, then let his arm slip from where he was still holding him. “So, the handprint?”

“Happens when a person is either healed or harmed.”

“Well. That explains a lot.” Michael watched as Alex stared off into space for a second before a grin broke out. “I was right!”

“What?”

“These murders, they were done by aliens. I was right.” The tension in the room leaked out as Michael looked incredulously at the man next to him.

“Really Alex? _That’s_ what you’re taking from this?” He watched as Alex shrugged, finished putting his bureau required suit on, and raised an eyebrow at Michael, still sitting with sweatpants on in the bed.

“That’s not the only thing, but it’s still nice to be proven right for once. Get dressed,” Michael got a face full of his own suit when Alex tossed it to him, “we need to go talk to your siblings.”

* * *

“Not that I don’t appreciate you not freaking out earlier this morning,” Michael was sitting in the passenger seat of their car, while Alex drove the two of them to the AirBnb the twins were at, “but, why are we meeting my siblings again?”

“Because, at this point they are the only witnesses that I know of to one of these murders. I need to ask them some questions, gather some details, also? They’re aliens. That’s kind of my thing.” Alex shot a grin over to him, but Michael sank deeper into his seat. “What? Scared that the big bad government agent is going to geek out over your family?”

“No. Scared that my family is going to freak out and try to invade your brain.” He grumbled back, folding his arms over his chest and glaring out the window of the car.

“Guerin, I’ll be ok. I survived growing up in almost a literal hell, years in the military, and not to brag, but I aced my SERE training back in the day. I’ve had lots of practice hiding my thoughts from people.” His tone was light, but Michael could see his grip on the steering wheel tighten as he drove.

The AirBnb that Isobel had found herself and Max was immaculate. Realistically it was too big for just the two siblings, Michael estimated the place had about six bedrooms, but his sister had never been one to skimp on luxury when it came to living quarters. Isobel waived them in from the doorway while Max was waiting for them inside the kitchen making lunch for the group. Thank God he’d sent a text to the group chat saying they were coming over, he hoped he’d given them enough time to figure out how to approach the talk with his partner. Alex, of course, was on top of his game, exuding confidence.

“You must be Isobel, I’m Agent Alex Manes, your brother’s partner.” Alex stuck out his hand for her to shake. Isobel gave him what Michael knew as her “winningest smile” and took his hand. Michael watched the two of them stiffen while Isobel maintained eye contact with the man across from her. Michael hissed in a breath and glared over at Max who was staring at the trio from the kitchen.

“I thought I told you two to back off! I had it handled!”

“Just let her do her thing Michael, she’s making sure that we’re safe.” Michael opened his mouth to argue, but the two were interrupted by Isobel’s sharp gasp as she and Alex broke apart suddenly. She looked at her two brothers and shook her head, a look of shock on her face.

“ _That’s_ your partner Michael?” Max grabbed Isobel’s elbows as she sank to the couch, slipping a bottle of acetone into her hand as he spoke.

“He had me completely shut out. I didn’t even make a dent. I gotta admit, it was kind of hot,” Both of her brothers looked down at Isobel, shocked, who glared right back at them, unrepentant. “What? I’m just calling it as I see it.”

“I really don’t think you’re his type Isobel.” At that Michael heard a small snort from behind him, and Alex strode forward to sit with the three of them in the living room.

“What’s with that?” Alex motioned with chin at Isobel, gulping down acetone from the bottle.

“It’s a painkiller, regenerator, basically it makes us feel a hell of a lot better.” Alex nodded, silently taking in the small family in front of him.

“You’re handling this pretty well Alex, are you sure you just found out about us last night?” Max was glaring suspiciously, still rubbing Isobel’s back soothingly as she wiped a small amount of blood from under her nose.

“Guys, I told you, he’s not going to hurt us. Right Alex?” Michael bumped his shoulder into the Alex next to him, who quirked one corner of his mouth in acknowledgement of Michael’s effort to smooth things over.

“It’s ok Michael,” he watched Alex inhale deeply, and lean forward, a gesture Michael recognized from their meeting with Kyle, slipping into his official agent mode. “I get it. You have no reason to trust me, fuck, I’m sure Michael has told you that I’m a threat at some point.” He looked over at Michael, who blushed red up to his ears. “I get it. I’ll be frank, I don’t completely trust you either. I know what you did.” He stuck Max with a look, ignoring the indignant sound Michael knew he let out. “But we need to work together on this. We need to figure out who is killing these people before it happens again. And,” he looked at all of them before continuing, “I think there is a fourth alien out there, and we need to figure out who it is before you get caught.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex panics a bit, the boys have another meal together!

“Whoa, wait, you think there’s another one of us out there?” The three siblings in front of him had gone ramrod straight where they sat. Michael hesitantly reached out and let his hand sit on Alex’s knee, he could feel soft heat warming his leg where it sat. Alex tried to swallow down the urge to brush it off, a deep feeling of unsettlement burrowing into his chest. God, he hated that part of himself that always feared public affection would get immediate punishment. It’d been beaten into him, quite literally, that you do not show any sort of affection in front of others. Even something as simple as brushing hands would get him weeks of isolation and multiple bruises that needed covering. He could feel the anxiety building in him slowly, as the three aliens continued to stare at him, waiting for him to speak. His gut churned as he tried to avoid eye contact, that always made it worse. His chest tightened a bit at the feeling, _just have to breath through it_ but a gasp came out instead.

“Alex? Hey, it’s ok,” he felt the hand on his leg tighten minusculely, and Alex could almost feel the bruises that would be left there being formed. Another shaking breath in, and out. He willed his heartbeat to slow and waited until it had before he allowed himself to continue. He stood suddenly, feeling like he would vibrate out of his skin if he didn’t move, find some place to be safe. He ignored the hurt look that flashed on Michael’s face as his hand fell away at the movement. Subtly, he hoped, he began pacing, and if the pacing took place from behind the safety of the chair he had been in, only he needed to know that. Keeping something between him and the threat, that was the best course of action.

“So, essentially, yes. I think there’s more of your kind out there. I’m not sure how many, but there would have had to be more than just children on that ship. And, I don’t think any of you are serial killers, I know you had to do what you did to survive as children, but the handprints don’t match up on the latest victims. All of you are right-handed, and the handprints on the people from the past two years have all been marked by left hands.” At this Max raised an eyebrow quizzically at him, a challenge if he’d ever seen one. He fought off the urge to sigh and roll his eyes, some people always needed proof. “I’ve been partnered with Michael for a few days now, it would be hard to miss with that amount of time spent together. Max, you were in the kitchen earlier, making lunch, I saw you handle the utensils. Isobel held the door for us, and she shook my hand.”

The group sat in stunned silence for a bit, and then Max finally spoke.

“Do you see everyone as a threat? Or just us? How do you live like that, cataloguing people?” It was a genuine question, Alex couldn’t feel any vitriol behind it, but it stung all the same. He looked away, focusing on a spot on the carpet as he answered, hoping they wouldn’t pick up on his shame.

“I-I’ve always had to assess the situation before I enter a room. You learn to pick up on things, little things, like the undercurrent in a person’s tone of voice, or how they are washing the dishes. Are they doing anything subtle but violent? Have you ever had someone fold clothes aggressively at you? I’ve always had to interpret things like that, immediately upon my arrival. So, yea, I see everyone like that. It doesn’t mean I don’t believe that most people are inherently good. I have to believe that, or I couldn’t live. Plus,” he paused, looking at Michael, who had such an expression of understanding that it almost made his eyes water, “during my bureau training I specialized in computer technology and criminal profiling, it quite literally is my job.” 

“Holy shit Alex. Are you ok?” God, it’d been so long since he’d been asked that. Years maybe? It didn’t matter, he knew Max wasn’t asking out of real concern.

“I’m fine.” He waived the question off, pulling out the file and spreading the different papers on the table in front of them. “I need to know everything that you know about the handprints.” He tapped the picture on the paper in front of him for emphasis. The three looked at each other, then back at him. Max nodded slowly and began.

“So, here’s what we know”

* * *

Alex left the house with swirling thoughts much later that day, Michael trailing behind him. He was drained, with leaden limbs and the distinct feeling that his brain had turned to mush. With the way Michael looked, Alex figured that he must feel the same. As they moved towards the rental vehicle, he could see Michael’s shoulders start to slump. Once inside, silence permeated the car, before it finally was broken by Michael’s stomach growling loudly. He shot a look over to him and saw his partner flush at the noise.

“Oh shit, we got so caught up that we forgot to eat. Want to go get something from the Crashdown? They stay open late, and they make the best French fries in town.” He tried to keep his tone light. It’d been a long day, and they’d exhausted themselves with their discussions, they deserved something nice after all that.

“Yea, I’d like that Alex.” Michael gave him a weak smile and drooped in the seat. Alex saw his eyes slowly close. Figuring he needed the sleep, Alex turned on the radio, set the music low, and made his way to the Crashdown Café.

The drive wasn’t too long, and Alex felt a weird sense of peace settle in as the sun set behind him. The sunbeams bounced off the red and orange rock, tinting the sky golden.

After parking Alex gently shook Michael awake, watching in awe, as his long eye lashes fluttered and he came back to consciousness. _Was that? Butterflies in his stomach?_ God, he needed to get a grip on himself. One set of pretty eyes under a mess of golden curls and he melted huh?

“Michael, we’re here. C’mon, let’s go get some dinner.” A small grin played across Michael’s face, and Alex swore he felt time stop for a second at the sight. He shook his head a bit, hoping to get it to clear, and got out of the car. He looked through the windows as he walked by, and saw that Liz was working. He gave her a wave and hurried inside, letting Michael follow him.

“Alex!” Liz hurried over and wrapped him in a warm hug, rocking him side to side as she did so. “I still can’t believe you’re back! I was beginning to think I’d hallucinated you the other day!” She pulled back and shoved his shoulder lightly, grinning wide. “And who is this?” Alex saw her nod behind him towards Michael, her smile turning knowing at the edges.

“This is Agent Michael Guerin, he’s my new partner.” Her grin widened. “At the FBI Liz.” He hissed the last part at her, as she shot glances between the two of them. Michael reached out to shake her hand, and she took it readily.

“I hope you’re taking care of our boy here. He looks mean, but he’s secretly a huge softy.” She winked over to Alex, who felt his entire face flush hotly. “Didn’t I see you in here yesterday? You were with two others, right? The guy you were with choked on his food” Her voice turned light with laughter.

“Yea, my siblings. And it sounds like Max left you with quite an impression.” He smirked as he said it and gave Alex a wink when Liz herself blushed.

“Why don’t you two go sit down, you look dead on your feet. I’ll get two burgers on. Alex, you want your usual? I still remember it.”

“God yes, thank you Liz. It’s been a long day. And can you make my chocolate shake two? I think Guerin could use something sweet.” She nodded, slipped him one last smile and disappeared behind the door to the kitchen. Alex went to the back table, the one he’d always used in high school, and flopped down heavily. He leaned back, resting the back of his head on the booth, sighing dramatically. A thump across from him told him his partner had sat down just as hard.

“You ok Guerin?” Alex cracked open one eye to look at the man across from him. “That was a lot we dredged up with your siblings.” Michael rubbed the back of his neck, and looked around the diner, avoiding his eye contact.

“I’m not exactly used to sharing as much as I have the past few days Alex. We’ve kept so many secrets among the three of us for years, and now it feels like you’re dredging up everything in my life to look over with a small toothed comb. I know you need information, but it’s jarring.” Alex could see a sort of sadness in Michael’s expression, like he was upset but felt he didn’t have the right to be.

“I know, and I’m sorry. But you have to know how helpful this has all been. We know now how these things happened. Now we need to figure out the who and the why. And,” Alex moved forward, leaning across the booth towards Michael, “thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.” His partner gave him another small smile, and then looked up as Liz brought over their food.

She set the trays down and made shooing motions at Alex. He complied, and she slipped in next to him with a milkshake of her own in hand.

He took one of his French fries, dipped it in his “Milky Way Milkshake” and popped it in his mouth. Alex couldn’t help the low moan he let out at the taste, a salty sweetness mix that was both hot and cold. God, he had missed that so much while he was gone.

“What,” he looked up at Michael who was staring at him with wide eyes, disgust twisting his face “the fuck was that Alex? Did you just dip your fries in your shake?”

“Yea? It’s amazing, you should try it. It’s delicious. One of the single best things I’ve ever had in my mouth.” The quip didn’t land and Michael looked on in horror as Alex did it again. Next to him Liz snorted, and nudged his leg with hers under the table, reminding him that she was there next to him.

“ANYWAY, so Liz, what’re you doing still here in Roswell?” He dug in as she answered, ignoring Michael’s small shake of his head.

“Dad needs some help around here and I need the money, plus I’m off of school for the summer, so,” she shrugged taking a sip of her drink.

“Wait, you’re still in school? But it’s been years since high school! I figured you'd be long gone from here and university.”

“I’m going for my doctorate. Biomedical, specializing in genetics.” He gaped at her for a minute, and then pulled it together.

“Liz, congratulations! That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you!” Alex pulled her into a quick hug, squeezing her tight against his side, grinning over at Michael who was looking at the two softly.

The bell above the door rang, and Liz turned around hastily to see who it was. He kept his head down to continue eating, but he saw her stiffen almost imperceptibly next to him.

“General, it’s nice to see you again” Alex felt his body go cold, icy fear settling deep in his bones at her words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it. This is chapter 10?? Really?? And I've written now, over 20,000 words, good Lord. Thank you everyone who's reading still, I really appreciate it. Also, I thrive off of comments, so if you like it, please please comment. I try to respond to everyone, and it so helps my motivation. Just as a heads up, next chapter will probably be angsty, so expect that lol.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OK. This one gets angsty fam. Please PLEASE pay attention to the tags, as well as the new rating. I want everyone to be safe reading out there. That being said, there is some violence in this chapter, as well as references in the form of flashbacks to child abuse. Stay safe, and skip the chapter if you need to, I promise I wont be hurt if you need to.

Alex had learned at a young age how to determine who was walking by based on the sound of their stride. It was a necessary talent growing up the way he did. As a closeted gay child living with a homophobic father, not to mention how he “acted out” through his fashion choices, it was imperative he know who was outside of his door. Alex got good at it quickly, only a few slip ups, he got caught with make up on once or twice, but it was nothing a beating couldn’t fix. He knew what everyone in his family sounded like when they walked. He knew that his older brother Flint drug his left foot a bit on the heel, the result of a “fall down the stairs” he’d taken once. His brother Gregory had a particular heel-toe stride that he learned from their marching practice his father had forced on them, something Greg never forgot. Clay, well Clay had always wore his tennis shoes in the house and the rubber would squeak on the linoleum that Jesse would make him mop daily. Jesse himself, he had a heavy footfall. One that you get from wearing thick soled boots and carrying a belief that you are better than everyone else on the planet.

Alex hated the sound of his father’s footsteps. They sent a lightning quick shot of white-hot fear through him, searing his guts and firing down to his feet. His arms would go all staticky and numb, hands shook violently, and his knees would go weak and eventually give out. It was lucky then that he was sitting when he heard Jesse Manes’ footsteps for the first time in 10 years.

_Fuck_. Alex felt the muscles in his torso clench, waiting for the punch his body was sure would come. He forced himself to his feet and turn to face the demon he’d hoped he’d outran all those years ago.

“General.” Alex stuck out his hand to shake, trying to control the tremors rattling through his fingers.

“Alex.” Alex tried, probably unsuccessfully, to hide the flinch at the sound of his name coming out of that man’s mouth. The hatred was still there, barely under the surface of his father’s voice. Alex had to clench his jaw, swallowing down the bile that accompanied the fear that rose up at the sight of Jesse Manes. All in all, he really hadn’t changed that much. Jesse still had the flinty gaze, the clenched hands, and the rigid body language that Alex had long ago associated with the word father. He looked down at Alex’s hand, still extended, and then made eye contact. His lip curled in disgust, as if the mere thought of touching Alex sickened him. Alex let his hand fall limply back by his side.

“Alex? Who is this?” _Fuck_ , he’d forgotten Michael in the booth behind him. There it was, the lightning strike of terror. He’d rarely felt that kind of fear for anyone outside of himself for years now.

“Michael, this is,” he shuddered a bit, and caught the look of worry that passed over Michael’s face, “this is my father, General Jesse Manes.”

“Dad, this is my work partner, Agent Michael Guerin.” With that his father’s attention was turned fully to Michael. Alex could see Jesse doing the calculations, looking Michael up and down and coming to a conclusion in his mind. He could tell it wasn’t good, Jesse had clenched his jaw midway through the inspection, his eyes narrowing a fraction. But Alex could tell, he didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget how to tell, when his father was mad.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you sir, you have quite an amazing son here with Alex.” Michael said it so genuinely that Alex almost believed he meant it. He ducked his head as Jesse scoffed, embarrassment flooding through him. He should’ve known better than to think he’d ever be able to be enough for his father, no matter what Michael had said.

“Alex, if you would, I need a word with you.” Without waiting for a response Jesse walked out to the sidewalk, shoving past Liz, who had been silent throughout the exchange, a stubborn look on her face. Head still down, to avoid the look on Michael’s face, he followed Jesse outside.

Shoving his hands in his pockets to hide the shaking, Alex tried looking nonchalant as his father whirled around to face him. Quicker than expected, Jesse was in his face, so close that Alex could feel his hot breath fan his face. Jesse’s rage was no longer contained, now that they were out of earshot of other people Jesse knew he had free range to do whatever he pleased. Alex had been through this song and dance before, he’d often been taken behind a building or shed when in public with his father, just so that Jesse could get a quick beating in throughout the day. He vividly remembered being beaten behind a supply shed once at one of his brother’s baseball games for the sin of showing up wearing jewelry in public.

“What the _fuck_ do you think you’re doing here Alex?” Jesse snarled at him, his face turning scarlet, something that often accompanied his rages. As much as he liked to pretend to be calm and collected around others, he never could control his anger around Alex. “It’s bad enough that you’re like _that_ in your own home, but now you go out and flaunt it in public. Shoving your perversions in people’s faces. It’s disgusting. How _dare_ you continue to shame your family.”

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from a man like you. As if the people in this town don’t know what kind of person you are at home. I can’t tell you how many people congratulated me after getting out from under your roof. How _brave_ I was for putting up with you for so long.” He felt a thrill go down his spine at his own daring. Not long-ago Alex would have been cowering at the words Jesse had flung at him. Yes, he was still trembling from the effort of looking his father in the face as he spit those words back at him, but it was worth it.

“You’re an ungrateful fuck you know that Alex? I gave you everything you ever needed, a roof over your head, food when you deserved it, a cell phone, even the discipline you needed. I could’ve taken any of those things away from you, but I didn’t. I was a saint for putting up with you and your insanity as long as I did.” Jesse took a step closer, Alex hadn’t thought that was even possible, emanating menace in his stride. “You should’ve died over there. Done the honorable thing and died in battle, instead of making us, _your family_ , put up with your bullshit for longer than we needed to.”

“ _How dare_ you say that to me. I am your _son_. Get the fuck away from me!” Alex finally broke and shoved Jesse away from him, hitting him square in the chest with both hands. Alex turned to go back inside, fury making his brain swim, but was jerked to a stop, hard. Jesse had dug his hand into Alex’s forearm, harsh fingertips gripping hard enough they were going to bruise, blunt nails already breaking his skin open. It threw him off balance, the swift change in momentum, causing Alex’s knee to lock and what rational thoughts he had flee. Alex is suddenly thrown back into a flood of his own memories, his body instinctively cowering away from the hit that always follows this type of grip.

Pain blossomed through his ribs, and Alex thought, _of course_. Jesse had gone for a hit that had less chance of the bruising being seen, or the punch itself being noticed by the people behind them. The coward. Immediately, an explosion to his right rang out. He could hear someone screaming.

The pain in his arm released, and Alex stumbled a bit to his right, the momentum of his turn catching up with him. He looked up and met Michael’s eyes through the large windows of the Crashdown. He was standing by their booth; his chest was heaving making him look like he’d run miles, he was wild eyed, and his hands were clenched at his side. The jukebox that Liz had always loved fiddling with was now sitting on its side, smoke pouring out of it, sparks were flying, illuminating Michael in golden light. Behind Michael was Liz, hands over her mouth staring at the jukebox with something like horror on her face. Dread bloomed in his stomach masking the pain still lingering there. He may be out of his father’s grip, but no good was going to come out of this. True to form, when Alex looked back at Jesse, the man was staring at Michael, suspicion written plainly on his face. Panic choked him at the sight, and he began trembling all over. Michael had officially been put on his father’s radar. Jesse looked from Michael, who was still standing there, breathing heavily, raging, back to Alex. A sneer spread over his lips and, Alex thought hysterically, that his teeth looked wolfish. Jesse sauntered over to Alex, calm veneer back in place now that he knew they were being watched closely. He leaned in, close enough so that Alex would be the only one who would ever hear what he said, and at the last moment Jesse looked up, making eye contact with Michael through the glass.

“Tell your partner he should be more careful Alex. Wouldn’t want him getting out of control.” A violent shudder ran through his body, nausea blooming deep in his gut at the words. Jesse’s grin turned, if possible, even more predatory at Alex’s reaction. Giving him one last look Jesse turned on his heel and walked back the way he’d came, leaving Alex to the utter destruction in his wake.

* * *

He was shaking. Seeing Jesse hit his partner like that, hit _Alex_ like that, fuck, it’d hurt. As soon as the man had grabbed Alex, Michael’s vision had went red. Michael knew he had to get himself calm, he’d already fucked up tonight, badly. Using his power like that, in public? In front of two strangers? He hadn’t messed up like that since he was a kid. Now Liz was out of a jukebox and Alex was staring at him like he was a raging bull, destroying everything in its path. God, what he would give to never see that look on Alex’s face again, to have him not look at Michael with fear again. He swallowed hard and began trying to regulate his breathing. His breath hitched as Jesse leaned in and whispered something in Alex’s ear, maintaining eye contact with Michael as he did so. And then he was gone.

From behind him he heard Liz muttering what sounded like a prayer in Spanish, before saying quietly “There must have been a power surge or something. Damn, dad’s gonna be so upset. We’ve had that thing forever.”

Her tone, she sounded devastated, broke him out of his turmoil, and he turned his attention back to her.

“Hey, are you ok? Did you get hit with any sparks or anything?” He looked her over closely, trying to see if he’d hurt her accidentally. God, if he had he’d never forgive himself. Liz was Alex’s friend, and she seemed to be a decent person. Plus, his brother was already head over heels for the woman.

“I’m good, but the jukebox is shot.” She nudged it sadly with her foot shaking her head. The smoke had stopped billowing, but he could tell the machine wouldn’t be fixed easily. He heard the bell above the door ring, and Alex, looking shell shocked, slowly came back into the café.

“Hey, you ok in here?” Alex had directed it at Liz, but he was looking at Michael when he asked it. God, even hurt he was trying to look out for Michael. Michael swallowed hard, and shook his head gently, hoping Alex would get the hint. A clear _we’ll talk about this later._

“Yea, I was in the back cleaning up, when this thing,” she gestured towards the jukebox, “exploded. Are you ok Michael? It didn’t hit you with anything did it?”

“Nah, I’m good. Just startled me, that’s all.”

“What about you Alex? Your dad’s never great to deal with, did he want anything?” Michael felt his jaw clench involuntarily. She must not have seen Jesse Manes hit his son. He opened his mouth to say something, to rage and yell about the devil incarnate that was Jesse Manes, but before he could, he saw Alex shake his head subtly.

“Oh, you know, just wanting to tell me what a disappointment I am to the family. Same old same old.”

“Alex” Liz wrapped Alex is a tight hug, arms around his midsection, and Michael didn’t miss his wince, “I don’t know why you put up with that man.” Alex gave Liz a squeeze and then pulled away.

“Do you need help moving that?” Alex pointed at the jukebox, “We could get it into the back for you.” Michael had to give it to him, Alex was good at changing the subject, he’d have to remember that. With Alex’s help Michael managed to get it maneuvered through the swinging door into the back room. Michael watched closely as the two friends said goodbye, fight over whether he and Alex should have to pay, and finally, as Liz insisted that Alex be back in soon. He’d watched Alex closely enough the past few days to know that he was hurting, and Michael itched to get him back to the hotel, where he could keep him safe. They needed to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, if you made it through that, I'm glad. Some fluff probably next week! I'm sure you may have noticed, but I've gone from posting every Sunday night to Sunday and Wednesday nights. I'm hoping to stick to that, but if I don't please forgive me. 
> 
> As always, if you enjoyed please comment! I thrive off of comments, and I always try to answer! Even if it's just emoji's, as I know how nerve wracking it can be commenting on things!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stargazing. Taking Care of one another. Fluff. So much fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that everyone is doing well and keeping safe! As you can tell I skipped Sunday, but this chapter is a bit longer than most. It's pure fluff, with like a teensy bit of angst. Enjoy.

They got back at the hotel a little past midnight, and Michael could tell that Alex was drooping. He’d given up on pretenses, curling his arms over his midsection during the drive home. Alex didn’t want to talk about what had occurred, but god, Michael needed to know what had happened between Alex and Jesse. It was going to be tough, but if Jesse knew anything about him and his family, he shuddered at the thought, then they had to keep away from him. When they got up to the room, Michael made sure Alex sat down and took pressure off of his knee. His partner was staring, looking slightly shocked still, hands folded in his lap. Gently, using just a small touch of his forefinger and thumb, Michael lifted Alex’s chin up so they were making eye contact.

“This has been a hell of a day. For both of us. But right now, I can literally feel my adrenaline pumping, there’s no way I’m going to fall asleep right now. And I think it’s the same for you, right?”

Alex nodded, not moving his chin out from Michael’s hand.

“Ok, get something more comfortable on. I have an idea, but I think it’s best if we’re not in our suits.” His face heated a bit as Alex gave him a small smirk. At least he was feeling well enough to pick up on innuendos. As Alex was putting around slowly, Michael slipped on his own jeans and a sweatshirt. The desert got a lot colder than he remembered at night, so he new they would need some warmth for where they were going.

“I’m decent.” Michael looked back, halfway through putting on his sweatshirt, over at Alex. He was in yoga pants, which left nothing to the imagination, and an Air Force Hoodie. Michael felt the overwhelming desire to pull Alex into an embrace and bury his face into the crook of his neck. He just looked so small, Michael wanted to wrap Alex in the blanket of safety he deserved. Alex raised an eyebrow, and Michael realized he’d been staring for a bit longer than considered appropriate.

He cleared his throat, shaking himself out of his stupor. Michael jerked his head towards the door, and Alex shoved his hands in the front pocket and followed him.

* * *

“I need to get some supplies, nothing huge, just a quick stop at the convenience store.” Michael was in and out within minutes. Alex stayed in the car, not ready to really face anyone else yet.

“So, where are we going?” Alex finally broke the silence about 10 minutes out of town. “Am I finally being abducted by an alien?” Michael chuckled a bit, shaking his head.

“I thought we should get out of town for a bit, and I remembered that the stars always look better out here. I used to do this early on, just find a spot not far out and stargaze.” He looked over and saw Alex’s face soften slightly into a look that Michael didn’t recognize. He drove for another minute or two, just until the lights of Roswell faded into a glow on the horizon. There was a small junkyard up ahead, all the lights were off in the office and there was an empty place he could park the car.

“Come on, let’s go look at the universe.” He held out a hand without really thinking about it, and to his surprise Alex slipped his hand into Michael’s. A slight thrill went up his arm sending a shot of warmth to Michael’s heart, and he tugged Alex along until they found a spot. Michael used a small amount of power to clear an area of desert plants, rocks, anything potentially dangerous, and then reached into the bag of things he’d bought on their way out. He unfurled a blanket, chuckling a bit at the obnoxious alien face staring up at them from the fuzzy depths of the background. Everything in this town had to have an alien on it. With a flourish he gestured to Alex, who gave him a soft look and then settled on the blanket. Michael sat down next to him and watched as his partner looked up at the stars.

Alex slowly relaxed next to him, Michael could almost see the adrenaline leaving his body. Alex leaned back on his elbows so he could look directly above them, the motion leaving his neck exposed. Michael wondered what it’d feel like to kiss up the length of skin he could see, what noises he’d be able to get Alex to make, how he would taste on Michael’s tongue. But underneath the heat there was a tenderness he wasn’t expecting. Alex’s face was wonderous, he seemed in awe at the beauty of the sky. But all Michael could see was the beauty right there in front of him. He wanted to take him into his arms and show Alex he was more precious than anything else out there. There was a universe within Alex himself, stars the freckles across his face, eyes that shone like the sun, and Michael, god Michael felt drawn to him with more force than any black hole could ever hope to produce.

_God, when did he start waxing poetic? He was as bad as Max._

“It’s beautiful Michael.” Alex’s voice was soft, taken by the moment.

“Yea,” Michael croaked, “yea it is.” He didn’t mean the stars at all. If he admitted the truth to himself, he hadn’t looked away from Alex yet tonight.

“I never really got to do this. When I was younger dad would take us on survival trips, but we didn’t get to stargaze, it was mostly just camping. Any star-seeing we did was for navigation only. And then when I moved to Washington, well the city is too bright to really see any but the brightest stars there.” Michael nodded along, he had missed the stars dearly in Washington, but he enjoyed his job too much to move away just yet. “Do you know where it is?” Michael startled as Alex tilted his head back down, shooting Michael a look.

“Know where what is?”

“Antar. Surely you’ve looked for it?”

“I used to. A lot. When I would go out into the desert as a kid, I would spend hours just staring. I thought maybe I would be able to _feel_ it if I tried hard enough. But when we were transferred out, not long after... after the incident, I never really got to do it again. Max and Isobel wanted to integrate into society as much as we could, so I followed that. And no one really wants a kid that sneaks out in the middle of the night just to stare at the stars. Apparently, it’s kind of creepy.”

“I’m sorry Guerin.” He was surprised when he felt Alex softly grab his hand where it lay on the blanket. Alex didn’t say anything and neither did Michael, too scared to break the softness here. He felt like his tongue was glued to the top of his mouth. He knew they needed to talk about what had happened tonight, but he didn’t want to upset Alex any further. So, he let it rest, for an hour or two they just sat there, Alex staring at the stars, Michael staring at Alex.

“Alex?”

“Hmm?”

“We need to talk about what happened back there.” The night had been going so well after their incident at the Crashdown. Alex was hoping that Michael would just let the it go. No such luck apparently. Alex swallowed hard, stomach feeling like the earth was dropping out from under him.

“Do we really?”

“Alex-“

“Kidding Guerin. Kidding. I know we have to talk.” Alex sat up straight, one leg tucked in under his prosthetic, letting the leg it was on stretch out at an angle. “So. That was Jesse. My father.” He heaved a deep sigh and began picking at a loose thread in the seam of his sweatpants. “I uh, I didn’t have a great childhood, on top of the whole, “I saw my mom get abducted by aliens” thing, Jesse is a terrible person. I know I said it back at the Pony, but he hates that I’m gay. He hates that I’m who I am. He hates” Alex choked a bit at the words, but pushed on, “he hates that I’m still alive.”

Alex couldn’t look up at Michael. Couldn’t stand the look of pity he knew must be there, the one that’s always there when people found out about his childhood. He felt more than saw Michael lean over and cross the distance between the two of them, taking one of his hands where he was picking at the string, and squeezed it tightly. Suddenly he was grounded, focusing on the feel of Michael’s hand rather than the pain swirling in his chest.

“He um, he used to hurt us. Me and my brothers. But he really hated me, focused on me the most out of all of us. I was the outcast, the black sheep. When he. When I.” Alex took another deep sigh, he needed to get this out. “In high school I was outed. Publicly. And he didn’t take it well, the whole town knowing what he’d been trying to keep secret. Later, when I was feeling better, I signed up for the Air Force.” Michael made a noise of that, like he wanted to ask a question but was holding himself back. “No, he didn’t make me. I did it myself. I needed to be out of this place. I needed to get away from that man. I didn’t have much money, and I knew my car wouldn’t make it to California, so the Air Force was one of my only choices in getting out of a town like this. And I was good at it. They got me started doing computer work, and I was already good at psychology, kind of have to be with a father like that. The rest is history.”

“So, what I saw in the Crashdown?”

“Was him trying to reestablish his control over me. He sees us, my brothers and I, more as pawns for him, and he doesn’t like that I’ve “gone rogue” and joined the FBI. He’d rather I had died overseas.” At that Michael’s grip increased, and Alex finally, finally gathered the nerve to look up. Michael had a dark look on his face, and Alex wanted to rub the furrow in Michael’s brow out. He didn’t think that Michael realized it, but he was slowly rubbing his thumb over Alex’s pulse point on his wrist. “Guerin?”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Alex felt his mouth go dry as Michael looked up from where their hands were linked, his eyes filling with something dark and passionate “I’m so glad that I found you Alex.”

“I’m glad you found me too.” His heart hammered as Michael leaned forward, inching closer. Alex felt his eyes flutter shut, leaning into Michael’s space slightly. There was a soft brush of his breath on Alex’s face as he got closer, and then.

Pain.

Crying out, he shifted away from Michael, grabbing his leg at the amputation site by his knee. “ _Fuck_ ” it came out more as a hiss, as he tried to rub out the cramp in his leg.

“Alex? What’s wrong?” He could feel Michael’s hands hovering above his back, like he didn’t know if he was allowed to touch, as he folded in half from the pain.

“My leg. It happens sometimes, phantom limb. Fuck.” He breathed through the agony of it, trying to get it under control. He hoped desperately that this would be one of the episodes that it passed quickly, instead of the day long cramps that could happen. The muscles in his arms shook a bit, and slowly, ever so slowly, the pain started to fade, leaving him gasping a bit, sweat pooling at the top of his brow.

“You back with me?” Alex became aware of a steady warm hand at the small of his back, and a persistent pain in his ribs. He groaned a bit as he straightened his torso, from the feel of it, his ribs probably were bruised and were now letting themselves be known.

“Yea. I think, I think we should go back to the hotel. I need some pain medicine.” He allowed Michael help him up, a testament to how much pain he was actually in, he usually hated getting help in moving on his own. Limping heavily, he let Michael lead them back to the car and drive him back to town. 

* * *

“Go and take a bath, you’ve had a rough day and I bet the hot water would help your leg.” Michael couldn’t really look at Alex yet, the almosts of the desert swirling in his mind. Alex nodded and slipped into the bathroom. Soon he could hear the water running, and Michael tried valiantly not to think about a very naked Alex in the room next to him. Instead he took the blanket they’d relaxed on and tucked it into the shopping bag so as not to get any sand on the floor in the room. He took what he had bought from the convenience store and set up for the next part of his “help Alex” plan. Ointment, an ice pack, and pain medicine. He got ready for bed, and relaxed, waiting for Alex to get done in the bath.

Michael looked up at the sound of the bathroom door opening, steam billowing out of the room. Alex looked a vision, still a bit damp, his skin glowing pink from the heat of the water, limping on his prosthetic. Michael figured he must have taken it off for the bath, and put it back on after. He cursed himself a bit, he hadn’t thought about offering to help him, but if he knew Alex, he would have refused. Allowing his eyes to roam up the hard planes of Alex’s body Michael next saw the ugly bruise that covered his ribs on the left side of his body stretching around to his back. Further up was a bruise in the shape of a handprint that wrapped around his bicep. Where _Jesse_ had hurt him. Behind him Michael could hear the lamp start to vibrate a bit. A few deep breaths and an exasperated look from Alex got him calmed down.

“It looks worse than it is Michael. I’ve had bigger injuries, nothing to worry about really.” He watched silently as Alex got ready for bed, stripping down to just his sweatpants again.

“Come here” He patted the bed next to him, and got Alex adjusted in front of him, his back to Michael’s front so he could reach the bruises easily. He opened the ointment and the room filled with a smell of pine and sage. Michael leaned forward to begin putting the ointment on and stopped as Alex stiffened, the muscles in his back showing his discomfort. “Is this ok? Can I touch you?”

“You don’t have to Guerin. I can take care of myself.” But his head dropped, and Michael could see a flush go up the back of his neck. He leaned forward, letting his forehead rest on Alex’s shoulder.

“Let me take care of you Alex. You don’t have to do these things alone anymore.” He kept his voice soft and waited to see if Alex gave him permission to help.

“Ok.” It was more of a whisper, but Michael heard it. Gently he reached out and began rubbing the ointment into the bruise that marred Alex’s side. Alex’s muscles tightened at first, expecting more pain, and Michael felt his heart throb at the sight of it. He kept his touch soothing, swirling his fingers in tiny circles, and soon a small shudder went through Alex’s body. Michael felt a smile appear as Alex went lax under his touch and a sigh stuttered out of his lungs as Michael kept up the ministrations. As he moved from Alex’s ribs up to his arm Michael’s hands began to shake. He could tell the grip had been tight, and the thought of anyone touching Alex that roughly filled him with a sharp hatred. Michael pushed it down, deep down, so he could keep his touch light for Alex. He didn’t ever want to hurt this man.

When he was done, he put the cap back on the ointment and floated it back over to the counter. Not moving from the bed, he got the pills, a glass of water, and the ice pack.

“Here.” Alex took the pills and the water and hissed a breath in as Michael pressed the ice pack into his side.

“Thank you.” Alex sounded exhausted. Before he knew it, Alex was slumped over in front of him, breathing deeply, asleep sitting up. Michael gently laid him down on the unbruised side, put everything away, and silently slipped under the covers next to his sleeping partner. Against his better judgement he allowed himself to curl around Alex, one arm slung over him, careful of the bruises, the other supporting his head under the pillows. He fit perfectly in the space next to Michael, like a puzzle piece clicking into its spot. Michael pushed his nose into the back of Alex’s neck, breathing in the smell of his black currant shampoo. Unable to stop himself, Michael pressed a small kiss there, finally admitting to himself that he may be, just a tiny bit, in love with Alex Manes.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cuddles are had and brothers are seen!

The thing is, Alex could have sworn that he had felt the press of lips at the crux of his neck the night before. Maybe he had dreamed it? No matter how much he wished it was real, there was no way someone like Michael could care about him like that. Alex, well, he’d been to war, killed people, he routinely got into the mindset of criminals, Michael didn’t deserve to have someone like Alex in his life.

But…

But.

But he could feel the heat of an unearthly warm arm wrapped around him. But Michael’s breath fanned across Alex’s cheek, his chest expanding against Alex’s back, solid and _there_. Surely, he could let himself have this, even if it was just for a little bit. Even if he knew this wouldn’t last, and losing this, losing Michael, would absolutely kill him. He could let himself have this for now. _Just for now_. He repeated that thought to himself as he turned slowly in Michael’s embrace.

Michael’s curls spread out behind his head on the pillow, the gold coils framing his face like a halo. Had his eyelashes always been that long?

A deep sense of protectiveness settled in his chest while he lay there, staring at his partner. The events of the previous night slowly started to come back to him, as the aches along his body began flaring up again.

_Tell your partner he should be more careful Alex. Wouldn’t want him getting out of control._

An icy swirl of dread filled Alex at the memory, and a shiver went through him, offsetting the warmth of the body next to him. Michael’s arm tightened, pulling Alex in close to his chest, as if even in his sleep he could make all of Alex’s worries go away. Hesitantly Alex allowed himself to cup Michael’s face, to let his thumb rub along the cheekbone that was visible on this side of the pillow. Michael’s stubble brushed against the palm of his hand as he let himself sink into the moment.

Alex took some time to marvel at the man in front of him. He had known that Michael's family must have been through a lot, but knowing the full story, it was somewhat overwhelming. They all seemed to be good people, all three had gotten through college, gotten jobs, despite the fact that they quite literally crashed and burned over 70 years ago. Michael and his siblings had been through so much already, and the thought of his father taking an _interest_ in them, like he had taken an _interest_ in Alex, filled him with dread. He knew that his father wasn’t above torturing people for information. Hell, he’d been torturing Alex for most of his life, with no promise of information at all. If he could spare them the horror of Jesse Manes, he would.

Underneath his hand Alex felt Michael’s face twitch, the edge of his mouth quirking up slightly, touching the side of Alex’s hand. The small touch sent a thrill up Alex’s spine, and he moved to snatch his hand away before Michael fully woke up and caught him caressing his face. Before he could, Michael turned his head, eyes still closed, and pressed a kiss into Alex’s palm. He felt heat rise up the back of his neck, and he practically shoved himself away from the man. Before he could make it out of the bed, Alex felt a solid arm wrap around his midsection and pull him back.

“Mmmm, Alex. Don’t. Stay here for a bit.” His voice sounded rough with sleep, and Alex wondered silently if Michael knew how badly he’d rocked Alex to his core. Did Michael even know what he’d done?

“Guerin, come on, we need to get ready.” He was muffled, mouth pressed into the shoulder muscles where Michael held him still. He could feel laughter bubbling up in his chest, even as he tried to keep his tone serious.

“Noooo. Wanna stay in bed.” Alex couldn’t believe how whiny the grown man underneath him sounded. He pushed himself up onto his forearms so he could look down at his sleepy partner.

“Come on, breakfast is on me if you get out of bed now.” He pushed himself away again before Michael could respond and began to get ready.

* * *

“And it wasn’t even real cream cheese, it was light cream cheese! Are even listening to me Alex?” He was well aware that he was whining, but damnit Alex had gotten him up way too early this morning. Michael watched as Alex froze in front of the door to their room, bagel with _light_ cream cheese still in hand.

In front of him Alex shifted into “military mode” something he hadn’t seen often but seemed to be occurring more and more. He’d be lying if he said it didn’t turn him on a little bit. Alex’s shoulders tensed up, and he crept close to the door one hand held up, signaling Michael to keep behind him.

He craned to see around Alex’s shoulder, and saw that the door had been forced open while they were gone. Alex shoved the briefcase that held their files in it into his chest (Michael wondered sometimes if Alex kept the briefcase handcuffed to his wrist). With no preamble Alex kicked the door in, whipping his gun out of the holster at his hip, and swinging into the room.

Sitting, looking incredibly smug and comfortable at the table, was a man that Michael had never seen before.

“Alex! It’s been a while. Long time no see, didn’t think you’d come back to town and try to skip out on seeing your brother.” He was glad he was standing behind Alex so he wouldn’t have to stop the surprise from crossing his face. Alex lowered his gun, but Michael could see that his shoulders were still tense, and a muscle in his jaw was ticking, showing his displeasure.

“Flint. You could’ve just waited for us to get back, instead of breaking into the fucking room.”

“What, and miss out on all of this?” The man, Flint, gestured to the room at large, leaning back into the chair. “Sharing the bed I see.” Michael saw Alex tremor, and the back of his neck slowly turned scarlet.

When neither Alex nor Michael answered Flint gave them both a shit eating grin.

“I heard you saw dad yesterday.”

“And who told you that?”

“Who do you think Alex? Just because you never talk to the man doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t.”

Michael stepped up next to Alex, fully entering the room to get a better look at Alex’s brother. He was in fatigues, Army if the patch on his chest was to be believed. In comparison to Jesse the men looked much more like each other than their father.

“So why are you here Flint?”

“What I can’t just pop in and say hi to my little brother?” Alex gave him an exasperated look and waited for his answer impatiently.

“Fine, you caught me,” Flint stood up with an exaggerated sigh, and tossed something small at Alex who fumbled with it before it fell to the floor “I came bearing gifts. Well, one gift really. Have fun! Nice to see you too Michael, dad mentioned he was quite impressed by you last night.” Flint patted him on the shoulder, gave a wink to Alex and left the two men stunned, standing in the middle of the room.

“What did he give you?” Michael inched closer so he could see what Alex had cradled in his hands.

“A flashdrive.”

* * *

Alex had been working on the flashdrive decryption for hours, while all Michael could really do was wait for him to get done.

“God, I don’t know why Flint felt the need to so cryptic about this.” Michael looked over to where Alex was still typing at the computer, working on breaking the encryption that was built into the drive itself. Michael hated feeling useless, so he was pouring over the physical file and he definitely was _not_ staring at Alex while he worked.

“So, you have siblings?” Alex heaved a sigh and turned towards Michael, settling his arms on his knees, hunching over as if he was protecting himself.

“Yea, I’ve got three older brothers. Flint, he’s the only one still in the area, as far as I know. Greg went to live on the reservation with mom’s side of the family, he’s a teacher now. And Clay, he’s still in the Marines, I’m not sure if he’s ever getting out.” Michael shot him a look, and Alex had the decency to look at bit ashamed. “Look, just because I don’t tell them anything about my life doesn’t mean I can’t keep track of them on my own.”

“Alex! Are you using your government access to illegally keep tabs on your family?” He dramatically threw his hand up to his chest, faking outrage.

“Oh, shut up Michael.” A beep came from behind them, and Alex whirled away from Michael, giving his full attention to the computer again. Michael sat up, tamping down on his urge to look over Alex’s shoulder to peek at what the program had found. Finally, after a few taps at the keyboard he heard Alex suck in a breath and go stiff in the chair.

“What? What is it?” Alex turned back to him looking paler than Michael had ever seen him. The laptop behind him was flashing red, which even Michael knew boded bad news.

“It’s my dad. He knows about aliens.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a bit late with this one. Due to some personal life stuff my motivation to write was absolutely zero this week. As always, I THRIVE off of comments, so if you liked it PLEASE let me know. I need the encouragement!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations and conspiracies! :D

Alex was looking at him like he was going to pass out. The computer was still illuminated red, blinking on and off in time with Alex’s panic-quick breathing.

“What do you mean your dad knows? How can he know?” Michael watched as Alex shook his head, running his hand through his hair and mussing it until strands stood on end. Alex turned back to the laptop and Michael allowed himself a look at what was flashing on the screen. Pictures of people, dozens at least, were cycling through. Under each picture was a string of numbers, under the numbers were names.

“Oh my god” he fell hard into the chair in front of him.

“Michael…” Alex looked like he was going to be sick.

“Those are people like me, aren’t they?”

“I-“

“Aren’t they Alex?” The words caught in his throat as he looked over at the wrecked man next to him. Alex could only nod silently, misery written plainly on his face.

“Fuck.”

“Michael, I’m so sorry.” Alex sounded as upset as he looked, sad eyes looking up at him through dark lashes. He saw out of the corner of his eye, Alex reached out to take his hands, but at the movement Michael jerked out of reach.

“Who are they? We need to go get them.” He made an aborted movement to get up and then sat down forcefully once he caught sight of the screen again. “Alex…”

“What?” The man in front of him turned to look at the laptop, obviously sensing something in his tone.

“That, that’s me.” It came out as a croak; he couldn’t tear his eye away from the picture of himself on the screen. It was him from the first day, he could tell by the tie in the picture. Past him had was staring at Alex, he had this dopy look on his face that he would have sworn under oath that he had never made before in his life. How had Jesse Manes been able to get this picture? Had he always been on this sick bastard’s list of people to watch?

He had fewer numbers under his name than the others but more photos. As they stared the slideshow played through, showing Michael from different angles taken on different days, before the last one flashed onto the screen. It was a photo of Michael and his siblings at the Crashdown, Max staring sappily after Liz, Isobel exuding attitude from her entire being, and Michael himself throwing his head back, laughing at his brother.

His body went numb. He’d been watched, stalked, this entire time. Some of the pictures had Alex in them sure, but he was the subject of intensity in the study. To his left Alex was staring blankly, and Michael doubted he was really taking in anything other than the fact that Michael was in his dad’s files.

“I don’t get it.” Michael looked over at his partner who was still looking off into space speaking towards the wall, “If all of these people are aliens, then why was he keeping tabs on you before last night?”

“Maybe I just have one of those faces? Isobel always did say I have a face for modelling.”

“Guerin, please be serious about this.” Michael gave a non-committal shrug. Maybe he should’ve listened to Max when he said Michael used humor as a defense mechanism… Next to him Alex was mumbling to himself, going back through the file to look at the earlier photos of Michael. 

“No, no, no, why would he do this?” he watched as Alex leaned in close to the screen, as if he could figure out what was going on via proximity. Slowly he cycled through the photos until something seemed to click in his brain. Michael could almost see the little light bulb pop up. Suddenly Alex’s hands were a flurry of movement as he began doing something complicated in code.

“What? What is it Alex?” He looked from the computer to the man beside him.

“I’m seeing if the system backup saved any versions of the file before last night. If I can access it I may be able to see what he was doing before he I.D.ed you as an alien.” Alex fell silent as a new screen appeared. His name was still underneath of the photos, but the numbers were gone. Instead was just a small description of him.

“Michael Guerin, 28, Male, Blood Type: A, Job: FBI Special Agent, Threat Status: Medium, Reconnaissance Motive: Found surrounded by bullets last week, somehow unscathed. Recently partnered with A.M. for unknown reasons, needs further inquiry. Approved for wiretap.”

_“Fuck”_ Alex was seething, and if Michael didn’t know how much the tech meant to his partner, he would have thought the thing would be trashed by now. “Give me your cell, now.” He handed over his cellphone without questioning it. He couldn’t help letting out a yelp when Alex crushed both of their phones under his heel a second later.

“Alex what the fuck was that for?”

“He’s tapped our phones Guerin. He’s probably read through our texts too. You weren’t safe as soon as A.D. Valenti partnered you with me.” Alex started pacing the room, he was radiating tension, and Michael could almost hear him grinding his teeth in frustration. “I can’t believe I forgot our cell phones, God, how could I be so _stupid_.”

“How did he get permission for this? I mean, he’d have to have approval from somebody, he can’t just have started this thing on his own right?”

“He knows details about your last case, he knew you’d been partnered with me, somehow he’s been getting information on me. I can’t believe this!” Alex had slipped into rage now, the dumbfounded disbelief wearing off fast. “Someone has to have been keeping tabs on me, keeping him informed on what I’ve been working on.”

He stopped dead in the middle of the room, eye growing wide as he thought.

“Alex, what-“

“I think that there’s a mole in the FBI.”

_“What?”_

“Guerin think about it. Those types of things on this file aren’t exactly public record! And they have access to your medical records, which are supposed to be confidential! Speaking of which, we’re going to have to discuss how you managed to lie about your blood type on an official government record. But look,” here he gestured back towards the laptop “he somehow knows details about you. Including how much of a threat you are! Guerin,” he sucked in a deep breath “when was the last time that you sent a message to A.D. Valenti?”

“What? I don’t know? She told me to send updates regularly when she assigned me, I think I sent one on the first day, and then every other? And then I have to turn in my report after the case is solved.”

“What have you told her so far?”

“Just that we went to the station, visited the morgue, and had a few leads. You can’t really think Valenti is in on this right?”

“I don’t know Guerin, it could be her, it could be her boss. Why did they even put you with me to begin with? If not to spy on me, to see how close I was getting to the truth! This could all be connected, and we’d never even know it.”

“Alex. I don’t think Michelle Valenti is part of an overarching conspiracy to take you down. That’s a little paranoid don’t you think?”

“Really, now you’re pulling out the P-word?”

“Yes! She’s the Assistant Director of the FBI! Why would she let people spy on her agents?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” Michael reeled at the sudden shout. Alex’s chest was heaving, and he was tugging at his hair. “I don’t know. But someone _is_ Michael. We have to be more careful. _You_ have to be more careful. My dad. He’s a monster. He would tear apart the world just to see me suffer, don’t you get that? He started looking into you because of me. This is MY fault. So please, please just believe me this time. If he’s reporting to somebody higher up than him, we have to watch what we say, in our reports, in public, I don’t want this following you back to D.C. You have a life back there; you can’t let this ruin you. I can’t ruin you.”

That was too much. He got up and crossed the room, moving quickly and cupping Alex’s face in his hands. He needed Alex to know he was serious. Those dark eyes looked up at him, searching his face for something.

“This is not your fault.”

“I-“

“No, let me finish Alex. This isn’t your fault. You are a smart, compassionate human being, and you will get through this. _We_ will get through this. And you could never, _never_ , ruin me.” Michael saw something break in Alex’s eyes at his words. He couldn’t help but smirk as he saw the man’s gaze dart down to his lips and back up. He felt hands come to rest on his waist and, unable to stop himself anymore, surged forward. They met in the middle. He let out a groan of pleasure as they, finally, pulled each other into a heated kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completed this at 1:15 am, the day after the season 2 finale, in an emotional time. Please go easy on me. As always, I LOVE getting comments and kudos. I THRIVE off of it (I know I say this every chapter) but it's true.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wrote a smut. My first time writing smut? Yes. More drama? Also Yes. [Strangeredlantern](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strangeredlantern/pseuds/Strangeredlantern) beta'd the first half of this chapter for me!! Thank you!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! I'm sure you realize based on the new rating and tags, but I stepped this one up? AKA, This one is a smutty one my friends! Enjoy!
> 
> Also, as per my usual request, please, if you enjoyed comment or kudos! I love looking back and reading them to keep up my motivation!! Oh! I also have a few more ideas for maybe one shots/or a continuation off of this universe if anyone is interested? If you are please let me know. They are based off of individual episodes/cases within the X-Files, but I want to know if the interest is there for more.

Alex savored the moan that he drew out of Michael as their lips met. Michael’s hands still framed his face, so Alex curled his long fingers into the coils of Michael’s hair, tugging slightly, earning himself another moan. He ran his tongue along the seam of the other man’s lips, who opened to him instantly. He deepened the kiss letting himself get lost in it, before his lungs began screaming at him for air.

Alex pulled away to breathe and chuckled a bit as Michael swayed where he stood and chased after him a bit before fluttering his eyes open. Their foreheads settled together, as the two panted into the space between them. Making eye contact with his partner, Alex could see that his pupils were blown wide, the black nearly swallowing up the deep honey color of his irises. The sight of the absolute _want_ on Michael’s face sent a chill down Alex’s spine, and he moved one hand from the curls of golden hair to the hard muscle of Michael’s waist. He pulled his hips closer, and he felt a curling heat and desire settle in his stomach as they drew flush together.

At the motion Michael drug Alex’s face back up crushing their lips together again. It was bruising. It was perfect. Alex scratched at Michael’s scalp gently, and Michael responded in kind, gripping Alex’s face tighter with his fingers but rubbing small circles on his cheeks with his thumbs. They kissed slower this time, savoring each other. He could feel the heat of Michael, could feel the passion that sat just below the surface of him. He gasped as Michael suddenly moved against him, as if desperate for any sort of friction. Alex pulled away from the taste of Michael’s lips, moving down to Michael’s neck, nipping and mouthing there while tugging on the clothes they still had on for some reason. He managed to get Michael’s shirt untucked before he felt strong hands shove him back onto the bed behind him. Michael was panting above him, eyes hooded, passion crackling electric between them. He propped himself up on his elbows and watched as Michael began to strip, revealing tanned skin inch by inch. Michael looked like he wanted to devour him whole and, getting the message, Alex began to hurriedly remove his own clothes from where he was on the bed.

He felt Michael’s eyes on him as he disrobed. He moved quickly, but his hands stopped of their own accord when he reached his leg. The air caught in his lungs as he stared down at the metal. He hadn’t been with anyone since he’d lost it, hadn’t had time honestly. Michael dropped to his knees in front of him, hands hovering above the leg itself.

“Alex? Can I-?” His voice was soft. Alex searched his face, expecting pity, but instead found the flare of desire they’d started this with. Swallowing hard, he nodded his assent.

He watched from the bed as Michael took his time, caressing his leg gently, looking intently at the release mechanism on the leg itself. He’d caught Michael staring at him once or twice when he removed his leg before, so he wasn’t too surprised when Michael could take it off without instructions. He set the leg aside and turned his gaze up to Alex on the bed. The heat in his gaze sent a jolt straight to his cock making him twitch, and Michael’s smug smile at the reaction showed he knew what he was doing. Alex was expecting him to move from his knees to the bed. Instead Michael grabbed his hips and pulled him forward, bringing Alex to him. He slowly pressed kisses up his inner thigh, making his way slowly up to his ultimate goal. He thought Michael was going to give them both some relief, so he couldn’t stop his gasp as Michael moved passed his dick and began laving kisses up his stomach. He shivered slightly as Michael’s fingers stroked around the outline of the bruise on his side, goosebumps popped up on his skin as Michael’s skin left heat behind as he went.

He gazed at Michael, who was looking at him with something like reverence. A thought popped into his head and Alex had to suppress a giggle. It felt like he was being worshiped, the man in front of him splayed out on his knees, offering him whatever he wanted.

He let out a whine as Michael started his way back down. By now they both were hard and leaking, and Alex craved more friction.

“Michael,” he flushed as his voice came out more breathless than anticipated. The man in question stopped and looked up, grinning wickedly at him.

“Yes?” Alex’s hips twitched at his voice, seeking the relief he needed. Michael settled his hands on Alex’s hips, pining him down to the bed, stilling his movements. “Uh-uh. Tell me what you want Alex.”

“You. Want you.” That seemed to be all Michael needed. He leaned back, repositioning himself, before finally taking Alex in his mouth. 

It took all his self-control not to thrust up into Michael immediately, and chase the hot wet warmth of his mouth. Luckily for him Michael could do absolutely sinful things with that mouth. Alex gasped, throwing his head back as Michael swirled his tongue along the tip of his cock before licking up the underside of it. He couldn’t stop himself from digging his hands into the curls of Michael’s hair, and just held on. He didn’t put any pressure on him, just allowed himself to follow the up and down motion of Michael’s head. Before long Alex could feel his orgasm building, rushing towards him.

“Michael, gonna,” he managed to get out before Michael pulled off, his mouth making an obscene pop as he did. Alex whined again, losing the edge of his orgasm in the moment. Michael stood up and gave him a smoldering look. Slowly he moved forward, got onto the bed himself, and straddled Alex’s hips with his legs. Michael leaned forward, draping himself lightly on Alex’s chest before he reached down and took them both in hand. Alex’s cock was wet enough to slick the way as Michael started jerking them both. At the same time, he took Alex’s lips again, and Alex opened up for him immediately. Not to be outdone he gave back in kind and shuddered as he tasted himself on Michael’s tongue. Soon Michael’s hips started stuttering against his own, and they broke apart as Michael began to lose himself in the feeling of them together.

“Come on Alex, be good for me, come for me.” He felt his back arch at Michael’s words, pushing himself over the edge, shooting onto both of their stomachs. Michael followed close behind, and Alex managed to get himself together enough to look up at Michael as he came. God, he was beautiful. The gold of his hair caught in the dimming light of the day outside, and not for the first time Alex thought he looked like some kind of angel, with a halo of golden curls. He collapsed to Alex’s side, careful of the bruising, draping an arm over Alex’s chest. 

The laid there in silence, both breathing heavily into the air, tired but sated. Alex turned his head to see Michael was already staring at him, looking like he was trying to etch Alex into his memory. Michael moved forward, kissing him lightly, before pulling back and looking at him seriously.

“You could _never_ ruin me.”

The line once again sent a shiver down his spine, warming him inside and out.

* * *

When he woke it was pitch black in the room, Michael’s arm was still draped over him, the sound of his soft breathing filling the space between them. Alex took a moment to note that he wasn’t sticky, which meant at some point Michael had taken the time to clean him while he slept, before the man himself passed out next to him. He squirmed a bit, embarrassed that he hadn’t been with it enough to wake up while Michael was helping him.

There in the dark and the quiet, while he stared up at the ceiling Alex’s brain started kicking into overdrive. What had that been? One minute they’d been talking about an overarching government conspiracy, the next they were falling into bed together. A troubling thought brought itself forward, commanding his attention. Michael had been through so much in the last few days. After everything, he would need to blow off steam, let loose for a little bit. He’d need a distraction from all of that. Of course. _Alex_ was just a distraction for Michael, just something to take away the pain and the worry that he was having to deal with so suddenly. He ached somewhere deep inside, suddenly hating himself. The hurt of the implication sunk down to the pit of his stomach, threatening to make him sick. God. This was a huge mistake.

He’d had visions of cuddling, waking up warm and safe in Michael’s arms come morning. But now, now he didn’t know if his heart could take the rejection that he was sure would come when the sun rose. He could not afford to get his hopes up that whatever this was would be anything more than a one-time thing. He’d have to pull away, bury his feelings before he let himself get hurt again.

And of course he had feelings for Michael. God, this night had been amazing. In truth, the past week getting to know Michael had been wonderful, even with all the drama. No one had ever made him feel so revered before, but that was just how Michael was. He put his whole heart into everything, throwing himself into a task, last night didn’t make Alex special. He would have to just take what he had with Michael and hold on to that, he should not expect anything else. They were work partners who’d gotten caught up in the moment, that was all. And, he told himself, he should not continue to indulge in his inner fantasy of having Michael forever. The dreams he’d had of settling down with his partner, those would have to stop, continuing on like that would just hurt him in the long run. And God, he was tired of hurting. There was no use holding on to something he couldn’t have. And he couldn’t have Michael.

Gently, trying not to wake him, Alex lifted Michael’s arm off himself, and lay it down on the bed. He inched away, figuring he might as well start distancing himself now. After a good six inches was put between them, he settled down and stared over at Michael who was still out cold next to him. His heart ached at the sight of the man. He looked so peaceful, finally at ease. The covers were cold on this side of the bed, but Alex had long ago gotten accustomed to falling asleep alone. He would just have to get used to it again, even if he longed to be held by those warm arms for the rest of his life.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot is moving forward! :D

He woke to the smell of rain and the feeling of small, slow circles drifting lightly on his upper arm. If Michael pressed any harder it would send a pulse of hurt through the bruises there, but Alex could tell he was being purposeful in his motions. He wondered how long Michael had been awake, and if they had drifted closer during the night. Inhaling deeply, the rainy-day scent of petrichor filling his chest, Alex took measures to steel his heart against the man next to him. People like him, they don’t get good things, and Michael Guerin, he was the best. He would have to accept that he’d had one fantastic night and move on. Sure, Michael said some pretty words during the night, but so had others before him. His mother had told him she’d be there for him, but she was gone now through no fault of her own. His father told him he was sorry, and “it will never happen again, I swear.” But the next hit always came anyway, no matter what was said. So Alex knew better than to believe empty words.

The first thing he saw was the hand still slowly stroking the marks his dad had left on his body. They were purple and blue of a two-day bruise, and Alex could see the individual fingers from the hand that had gripped him. Every once and a while Michael’s fingers would line up with the bruises sending a wave of nausea through him at the sight.

“I don’t know how anyone could do this to their kid.” Alex looked up from where their skin met to see Michael staring. His curls were chaotic. He was glaring at the spot where the bruises were on Alex’s forearm, his eyebrows were drawn, giving a darkness to his face Alex had never seen before.

“It’s not the first time. Wasn’t the worst either” It was the truth; he’d been through a lot worse at the hands of his father. Like the time he was made to sort through broken glass without gloves on because he had dared asked his dad if they could start to recycle. Alex had thought he’d never be able to play music again after that one. Jesse Manes always did have a knack for ironic punishments.

“It will be the last time.” He was looking into Alex’s eyes now, keeping an intense contact between the two of them. “I promise, I won’t let him hurt you again.” His heart fluttered and thrashed against his ribs like a frightened bird. Clearing his throat, Alex moved away, shoving down his reactions to the words into the little box labelled “Hope” in his head. It would hurt more to let himself believe what Michael said when he inevitably loses him later.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep Guerin.” A hurt look flashed across his partners face, and Alex had to look away to stop himself from apologizing. Turning his back on the man Alex began to get ready, strapping his leg on feeling as if he was donning armor along with it.

“Alex? Is everything ok?” He could feel the bed shift behind him, and he jolted up before he could be touched, still not looking at Michael.

“It’s good. I’m good. I don’t need your help.” He got up, and hustled himself to the bathroom, trying to leave the thoughts of his partner behind him.

* * *

  
There was something going on. Obviously. They’d spent the night together, something he’d dreamed about for days. They’d fallen asleep tangled together, whispering sweet nothings until they drifted off. But now, now Alex was icy, refusing to even look at him. _Fuck._ He must have fucked up somehow in between last night and just now.

Michael watched from the bed as Alex jerked away from him, almost running to the bathroom as he left Michael alone there in the bed. He flopped over and stared at the ceiling, his mind whirling as he tried to pinpoint what had made Alex’s mood turn sour. Could it be his comment about his father? Michael knew that maybe talking about an abusive parental figure the morning after maybe wasn’t the _best_. But he’d be able to protect Alex from his father now. Now he knew that Jesse Manes was monstrous he wouldn’t have to hold himself back. But, would that be what Alex wanted? Maybe he was mad because Michael had threatened his dad?

He sat up, letting the blankets pool around his hips, running his hands through his curls, trying to shake off the weirdness of the morning.

He watched as Alex exited the bathroom, already completely dressed in a work suit. An oppressive silence fell over the two of them, an awkwardness was there that hadn’t been present since their first meeting.

“I’m going to try to locate some of the people on this file.” Alex was already typing away, not bothering to look up from the laptop. “Have you updated your siblings about the situation?”

“That’d be kind of hard, since you shattered my cell phone. After that we got a little caught up, don’t you think?” His tone was sharp, but Michael couldn’t bring himself to care that much. He was hurt by the sudden chasm that had opened between them. He watched as the back of Alex’s neck slowly turned red, but his partner didn’t make any other sign of acknowledgement. He wanted to push, to argue. He wanted to see anger, fear, something. Anything would be better than this, this _nothing_ he was getting. Alex wouldn’t even look at him anymore.

“I’m gonna go get some burner phones. Maybe see my family.” Michael’s limbs felt like lead. He didn’t really want to leave until he figured out what was wrong, but he couldn’t stay here in the oppressive silence. “Should I get you anything Alex?” All he got was a shake of the head, and Michael’s heart sunk low in his chest. He got ready slowly, wanting to say more, but not quite knowing what would get Alex to talk to him. Michael went to leave, was nearly out the door when,

“Hey Guerin?” he turned around, looking over at Alex who was staring at him with wide worried eyes, “Be careful ok? It’s not safe out there for you now my dad knows who you are.”

“Who I am, or _what_ I am?” The worried look turned to hurt, and he watched in amazement as Alex slipped back behind his emotionless mask.

“Just. Be careful.” Was all he got before Alex turned his back to him, getting lost in the data again.

* * *

Alex loved breaking into systems, always had. Even as a kid he liked to push his limits, he learned how to jailbreak the very first cell phone he’d ever had within an hour of having it. Now it gave him something to do with his hands, the click of the keys lulling him into a kind of stasis while he worked. Often, he would look up and find it was hours later and he had skipped meals, dates, lost so much time in his work. Once Alex had stayed up an impressive 36 hours straight before his body shut down and he passed out at his computer.

As he scanned the documents that Flint had given him on the flash drive, he pulled up software that would help him with locations. He was hoping someone had messed up and uploaded something he could use to help him track the people in the files. It took him hours, but finally he spotted it.

_Subject 626 displayed powers of strength, often lifting objects exceeding a ton, as well as medium grade telepathy. Base 81 was incapable of containing the subject safely. For this reason, Subject 626 was transferred from Base 81 to Base 1413. (6.16.02)_

The photo that was attached to the file showed that of an older woman, frail but a defiant look on her face. Alex’s breath caught and his chest ached at the sight of her there. They’d obviously tried to break her but they’d failed. Scanning the memo, he saw two different bases, one he recognized and one he did not. It took him another hour to locate Base 1413 and identify it as a base in Caulfield, NM located miles from Roswell. He had a place to start searching.

Alex looked up from his research as his stomach grumbled, knocking him out of his stupor, to see it was way later in the day than he expected. He began the process of saving the information on the flash drive for later. A noise came from the other side of the door, he’d gotten so used to sitting in silence that it startled him a bit. He stilled completely, straining to hear anything else. Alex picked up a shifting sound, like someone was shifting from foot to foot. He looked over at the side table by the bed and saw that the room key was gone. Unless Michael had somehow lost the key during the day, it wasn’t him at the door. And surely Michael would have just knocked instead of awkwardly standing outside, right? Thinking quickly, Alex grabbed some tape and adhered the drive to the inside of one of the lamp shades. He may not know who was out there, but if they were after the aliens, he wasn’t about to make this any easier on them.

As he straightened up next to the bed the door blew open with force, and men swarmed the room. Later, he would estimate he took out four before they finally overwhelmed him by sheer manpower. The bastards had sent about 15 men, obviously expecting both agents to be in the room. He took a heavy hit to the head; black spots swam in his sight. As he slowly lost consciousness, he felt a pang of regret at how he’d left it with Michael; he briefly hoped Michael wouldn’t be hurt by the sudden disappearance. With any luck his partner would find the drive that had his research on it, and with any luck he would know better than to come looking for him alone.

Rough hands caught him before he hit the ground.

* * *

He woke in a cell. Alex lay completely still, not wanting to alert anyone nearby he was conscious. Slowly he began doing a scan of his body, tallying his injuries while he lay there. Bruised knuckles, split lip, someone had hit his already bruised ribs so some may have cracked, and a throbbing on his head suggested a sizable lump there. And somebody had taken his leg. _Fuck_.

As his awareness filtered back Alex registered someone carding through his hair, though the motion seemed to be soothing the person more than him at the moment. They were humming a soft lullaby and something about the tune hit a deep chord within him. It reminded him of happy days, soft nights, and the scent of chocolate chip pancakes.

His eyes fluttered open, and he saw an older woman kneeling next to him. She had rested his head in her lap while she ran her fingers through his hair. She seemed to be caught up in the sensation of the movements, her eyes were closed, and she looked peaceful. Alex took in the sight of her and wondered briefly if he was hallucinating. He shifted a bit under her ministrations, and the humming stopped abruptly as she looked down to peer at him.

“Alex?”

“Mom?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK! SO! As you may have noticed I have put an ending chapter number on this fic! This is very much subjective and depends on how the next chapters go writing wise, so I may get more chapters out or fewer chapters out. But for right now my outline is for four more chapters total!! AHH! That's so crazy, I never thought I'd make it this far. That on top of over 30k? I'm screaming, that's so much.
> 
> Anyway! As I said in the last chapter, I have some more ideas for spin offs/one shots for this universe, and if people are interested please let me know! They would be based off of some of my favorite X-Files Episodes, and would be more light/fluffy. 
> 
> As usual, Please, PLEASE if you enjoyed this chapter comment or Kudos. It's a tough time right now fam, and writing fic is one of my few outlets, but I need to know if what I'm writing is wanted or enjoyable. I will also say that I'm hoping to participate in the Roswell Big Bang event, so I may have a different kind of AU out in like December lol! I have some general ideas for fics in between then and now, so keep an eye out for my writing! :D 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger!!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations, information, and something is brewing.

Her hair had been shorn; it was shorter than he had ever seen it before. In a daze her hands moved from his hair to caress his face. Alex lay still and let her slowly get acquainted with his features. She was trembling, tears gathered on her long lashes as she gazed down at him.

“Mom?” Her touch was the only thing allowing him to believe that she was really there. She slowly nodded, tears finally slipping out and running slowly down her face. He twisted himself up off of the floor and halfway flung himself into her arms. She rocked them back and forth, running a soothing hand up and down his back. A sob ripped out of his chest, and he shuddered in his mothers’ arms. “You’ve been gone so long. I don’t- I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“How” her voice was croaky, and soft from lack of use “how long have I been gone?”

“It’s been 16 years. I can’t. You just were gone. I didn’t know what to do. I’m so sorry. I should’ve helped, I’m so sorry mom.” He was shaking, cries punctuating his sentences.

“Shh, it’s ok. You were young. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m so sorry you were alone.” She whispered into his hair, holding him tight against her. His mother let him cry himself out on her shoulder. After a few minutes he sat up straight, she wiped his face letting him slump a bit as she did so.

Taking in a shuddering breath he began to really take in his mother for the first time in years. She was in a scratchy gown that reached down to her knees. She had dark purple bags under her eyes, he hadn’t ever seen her look that tired before. Looking around the area Alex noticed just how small the space was. There was a small threadbare blanket on the floor, it was laying over a mat. A dark hole in the corner had its obvious uses. The room itself was three concrete walls with one bulletproof glass wall facing out towards a hallway. Alex had seen spaces like this before. Places to keep people captive, to show just how little the captors cared that their prisoners knew what was happening. It didn’t matter if they saw everything, they were never going to get out to tell the outside world what was going on.

He made a move to stand but collapsed back to the floor, cursing the people who took his leg. His mom stood up and flung his arm over her shoulder, helping him up. Together they hobbled over to the glass wall. The hallway stretched further than he thought, the end off in the distance. Every few feet or so there were more glass walls indicating cells, with people in every other cell.

“Who took you? What's going on here? Who are-?” He cut himself off, noticing the person in the cell directly across from them. It was an older woman, she looked up at him and his mother, a strange look on her face. Catching them watching, she waived over at them, a small smile splitting her face. With a jolt he recognized her.

“Subject 626?” it was barely a whisper, but the hand on his shoulder gripped him a bit tighter.

“That’s what _he_ calls them.” Alex looked over at his mother, who was looking longingly at the woman a hallway away. There was venom in her voice, a hardness he didn’t associate with her. “ _Subjects_.”

“Where are we?”

“Caulfield.”

* * *

“Alex! I got us some lunch!” In truth Michael had went to The Crashdown and begged Liz to get him an order of Alex’s usual order. He needed to make it up to Alex, fix whatever had went wrong that morning. He nudged open the door with his hip, thoroughly distracted by entering in his sibling’s numbers into his burner phone. He’d already put his new number into the phone for Alex, and vice versa. He clicked away at it for a minute before he realized the room was silent around him. He looked up into the room.

Empty.

“Alex?” Michael’s heart was in his throat, there was no sign of the man anywhere. “Alex, are you in here?” He looked around fervently but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Alex was just, gone.

Setting the food down on the table Michael began searching in earnest, surely Alex had left something behind, some sort of clue he could use to follow his partner. His clothes were gone, along with his suitcase. The laptop Alex had brought along was nowhere to be found. Michael tore apart the room, his control eking away as he went. There was nothing, it was like the man and everything he owned had vanished.

“No. No, no, no, no. He wouldn’t just leave. He told me to be careful. He- He cared. He wouldn’t leave me.” His thoughts began to spiral, and he collapsed onto the bed. A loud *pop* sounded next to him, and Michael flinched hard at the sound. Shards of glass fell to the floor as the light-bulb in the lamp next the bed to burst into pieces.

“Fuck” he picked up the glass with his brain, not wanting to cut himself on it. He looked into the lamp shade, he needed to get the end of the bulb out if he wanted to replace it before housekeeping showed. Taped to the inside of the shade was a small rectangular shape. “What. The. Fuck.” He pulled at the tape, letting the flash drive fall into his palm. His heart rate picked up as he stared at it, the one thing his partner had left for him. But. The laptop was gone. Pulling out his phone Michael dialed his sister’s number. She picked up on the third ring.

“Iz, do you have your computer?”

“Well, hello to you too Michael. What’s with the new number?”

“Iz, just answer me, do you have your computer?”

“Yea, but-“

“Great. I need you here. Now. Bring Max too, it’s an emergency.”

“Michael, what-“

“Please Iz. I just need you guys.” He hung up before she could protest further, texting her the address of the hotel. He began pacing, nervous energy making him feel like he was going to vibrate out of his skin. Michael didn’t know how long it took them to find him. One moment he was alone in the room, the next Isobel was flinging herself into his arms.

“Michael, what happened? What’s wrong?”

“He’s gone. He left. I don’t- He just left me.” He was choking on his breath, trying to keep himself under control and failing miserably. “I found this,” he handed Max the flash drive, and wrapped his sister up in a hug. “I think he left it for me. I have to know what’s on it.”

Leading his siblings over to the table he let them get to work together, knowing he would be useless to them in the state he was in. The two of them began to pour over the documents that he’d seen Alex researching, going over them in detail. 

He could tell when they stumbled upon something gruesome, a gasp from Isobel, a hand tightening on his thigh from Max. When they found his file, he thought that Max’s fingers would break through the fabric of his pants.

“Do they have anything on you two?” He hadn’t really thought to ask yet, he’d been more focused on his own file glaring at him from the screen.

“Nothing concrete. Not like what-“

“Like what they’ve got on me. Yea. I saw my file.” He hung his head, guilt roiling at the fact that he hadn’t even thought to look for their files in the system. Michael sat silently, letting himself get carried away in the overwhelming wave of guiltiness for a moment.

“Oh! I think I found the last accessed file!” It wasn’t anything remarkable, another file of a person, a woman from what he could see. A look at the bottom of the page showed a commentary section detailing the base numbers and severity of powers she had. In the margins of the notes was an added section that stood out. It had no dates, no annotations, and unlike the others it lacked a sign off from the person who wrote it.

“What’s it say?”

“Just some names, nothing special. I think, areas, bases maybe?” One base number had been bolded, and they took it as a sign to delve deeper.

“Can we find out where they are?”

“Yea give me a second.” She zeroed in on the site and pulled it up to a full screen.

“What site is that?”

“Base 1413, Caulfield.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeyyy! I'm two days late, and it's a bit shorter, but I'm almost near the end! I'm really excited to see where this goes, and I'm so glad for those who have stuck with me! As always I love love love comments/kudos/ etc. I have always needed that, and I need that so much. We're almost there!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We only have one perspective this chapter! Ah!

His mother’s arms began shaking a few minutes into them staring out the glass wall. Alex wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him so that he was holding up her weight instead. Together they slowly made the few feet back to the mat in the far corner of the room. Alex let her sit first before lowering himself to the floor using the wall for balance. He could feel eyes on him as he moved, people watching him with wide eyes as he positioned himself with the wall cool and solid on his back.

His mother was staring at him raptly, a mix of happiness and sorrow warring in her gaze.

“When did that happen?” She gestured to his missing leg.

“Years ago. I went into the Air Force, lost it in my third tour.” She reached out to touch his leg and on instinct he flinched away from her grasp. He saw a wounded look pass over her face, and a flash of guilt shot through him. “Sorry, just, habit.” Alex slowly reached out and offered his hand, which she took and squeezed a little, reassuring pressure giving some comfort to both of them.

“Why are we here? What’s going on?” Now that she seemed to be settling a bit, he was hoping that she would finally answer him.

She made a choked off noise, and he glanced over to see his mother’s eyes welling with tears, mouth opening and closing silently with aborted attempts to answer. He sat in the silence, giving her time to work through what she needed to say.

“Jesse. Your dad. He-.” She broke off again, taking a heaving breath. “He runs this place. Those people, Alex- you aren’t going to believe me if I told you.”

“They’re aliens.” His mom looked up at him, wide eyed again, and gave him a small nod.

“Yea. Yea they are.” She sounded breathless, like she herself still couldn’t believe it. “Alex. He’s doing things. Terrible, awful things, to those people.”

“Has he hurt you?”

“No. No, not me.” His mom looked over to him, _no_ , not to him, beyond him, to the woman sitting at her own glass wall across from them. She was still looking into their cell, a frail smile on her face as she looked at his mother. 

“What’s her name?” She startled a bit and blushed at being caught staring.

“Nora. Her name is Nora.” She sighed and leaned back, resting the back of her head on the cold brick wall behind them. “I was planning on leaving.”

He tore his gaze away from the wo-, from Nora, back to his mom, who was staring off into the distance.

“I was planning on leaving and taking you kids with me. And, I don’t know, he found out somehow. Maybe I wasn’t careful enough. That last week with you, I had our bags packed, we were going to leave. We were going to make it out of that house. I just had to wait until he came back with your brothers. I wasn’t going to leave them behind. I’m so sorry Alex.” Tears started rolling down her cheeks, she was still resolutely looking away from him. “I don’t know what you remember about that night. But I can’t get it out of my head. Sometimes I wish I could just- forget.”

He stared at the woman sitting right there next to him, knowing she was a lifetime away.

“I remember a white light, you-you were crying. Screaming, there was a silhouette in the doorway. And then you were gone. There was so much happening, it’s all kind of flashes now.” She was nodding along with him, gripping his hand tightly in her own.

“He came home early.” It was almost a whisper, forcibly choked out. “He pulled the car up into the front lawn and pointed the headlights towards the door. He kicked the door in to get to us. I thought he was going to kill us then and there. He kept yelling. Saying I wasn’t allowed to leave him. He grabbed me, and” her voice fell away as she gestured to the room at large, “I’ve been here ever since.”

“But- but I couldn’t move. It was like I was physically stuck there; it couldn’t have been him. He had the others, Flint, Greg, and Clay, they don’t know you’re here. They wouldn’t just let him take you.”

“He’d dropped them off at Jim’s, Kyle’s dad. They used to run this place together.” Her responses were almost robotic now, the palm of the hand he was holding was sweaty and her fingers were shaking. Alex knew the signs pointed to a panic attack on the horizon. He didn't want to push, but he still needed answers.

“How? How could he have held me there without me seeing him? How could he have gotten away with this?”

“He’s been. _Experimenting_. On them, on himself, on anything and anyone he can get his hands on. He was even back then. He’s been taking their DNA, I think. He doesn’t really explain that much to me. Just comes to gloat sometimes. And he’s developed these, these powers.”

A cold feeling sank through his veins.

“What’s he been doing mom?”

“I don’t know for sure. He- he killed Jim. There, in front of us. Jim, he was yelling about it going too far. I think he was upset to see me; I wasn’t part of the plan. And Jesse, I thought he’d strangled him but,” a shiver ran through her whole body, and Alex pulled her in tight against his side, “there was this, shimmering hand print. On Jim’s neck. And it looked like he’d had the life just drained from him.” At this she finally broke down completely, heaving sobs into Alex’s shoulder. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, reminiscent of what she used to do when he’d have a nightmare as a kid.

He wished it was just a nightmare now.

* * *

It felt like she cried for hours there on his shoulder going until she ran out of energy to sob anymore. After a while she lay down on the mat they were sitting on, leaving her hand intertwined in his.

Alex though, he couldn’t sleep. He felt like he’d been struck by lightning, all electrified and on edge.

His mom had been here. This whole time. And Kyle, he’d lost his dad a few days after Alex’s mom had been taken. He remembered the funeral, Jim had been cremated, had died in a car crash they’d said. His da- _Jesse_ he forced himself to call him- had murdered him. And, if his theory was right, many others. Jesse Manes had secret alien powers. Jesse Manes had the ability to leave glowing hand prints on people. _Jesse Manes was left-handed._ He fit the profile of the killer he’d been searching for the duration of the case. Alex would bet his measly government salary that the bruises on his arm in the shape of his father’s hand would match up to the hand prints he had on file. But _why._ He had a suspect, a dead ringer if he did say so himself, but no motive. Why would Jesse Manes go out and murder innocent people? Power hungry? Too much alien DNA? He just enjoyed it? Couldn’t rule that out. He let out a groan as he tried to get more comfortable where he was sitting.

Alex rolled his shoulders, in an attempt to loosen the sore muscles in his back. How long had he been in here? It felt like ages since he’d been jumped by the men in his hotel room, but it couldn’t have been more than a 6ish hours. Had Michael come back to the room yet? Had he noticed Alex was gone by now? A small niggling thought whispered that Michael would be better off without him. He and his family could just, go on living now. The one threat to their safety had been him, and he was out of the picture now. He wished it wasn’t true, that he was an asset instead of a hindrance, but it was hard to argue with his own logic. He hoped the X-Files wouldn’t be shut down without him, that Michael would at least try to solve some of the other cases he’d accrued.

He looked over at the other woman again, Nora. He remembered her file, she’d _displayed powers of strength, often lifting objects exceeding a ton, as well as medium grade telepathy_.

_Medium grade telepathy?_ He wondered what that meant. She looked up at him, wild hair framing her face, bouncing a bit as she moved her head. She began tapping on the glass, slow and steady in a rhythm that settled something deep inside him. He _knew_ that rhythm. The woman across from him rolled her eyes and nodded. _What?_ Had- had she heard him thinking? Another nod. Curious he scooted over, so he was sitting in front of his own glass wall now.

Tap-tap-tap-tap.

Her nails were long enough to make a little echo, just loud enough for Alex to hear it from where he was. She gave him a glare, as if to say _really, that’s what you’re focusing on right now? My nails?_

One long tap, four short, one short, four spaced out in groups of two. Alex counted the 4 separate patterns before the whole thing repeated. _Morse code!_ She nodded eagerly, starting the pattern over again.

T-H-E-Y A-R-E C-O-M-I-N-G B-E R-E-A-D-Y

How the fuck did she know that? And who were _they?_

He got an answer of sorts a few seconds later. Heavy bootsteps echoed throughout the hallway separating his mother and him from Nora. A man he hadn’t seen before, anonymous enough in his ABU’s, carrying a non-descript outfit stopped in front of the door to the cell. A small slot opened, and the clothes fell to the floor at his feet.

“Subject 716, you are to get changed and get ready to be processed by General Manes.” The man refused to look at him, staring forward, like a good little soldier.

“Yea, no. I don’t think so. Tell daddy dearest that if he wants to have a family reunion, he’s gonna have to come visit mom and me in this nice little vacation home he’s set up for us.” The airman shot him a disapproving look and then caught sight of Alex’s mom still asleep behind him.

“716, I have orders to take 670 with me if you refuse.” Alex let the sentence sit there, heavy in the air between them. The anger burned red hot in his chest before he began stripping down to put on the scratchy outfit all the other prisoners had on. 

“Are you at least going to give me my leg so I can walk?” The man said nothing just waited for him to finish getting ready, and Alex hated him for it. God, he hated having to even ask for his leg back. “Fine. But you’re not carrying me. That privilege is reserved for boyfriends only, and we don’t know each other well enough for that yet airman.” He did let the man help him up, and leaned on him heavily, still hurting from his beating that morning. “Let’s go see General Manes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was kind of heavy to write, I'll be honest! Will I be able to wrap this up in two more chapters?? I don't know!! We'll see how next chapter goes I guess lol!
> 
> And hey, did I mention I'm also writing a thesis at the same time as this?? Because I am, and it's been sucking all of my brain power away.
> 
> Anyway, if you enjoyed please comment, kudos, or anything else lol! I need all the encouragement as I can get right now, as this is my first chapter fic I'm wrapping up! So surreal.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reunion!

Michael felt like he was slowly losing his mind. Alex was gone. His siblings were here, trying to come up with some semblance of a plan, but all he could think was that Alex was in that place, having god knows what done to him, alone. The last things they’d said to each other were sharp words before he slammed the door on Alex. Did his partner even know they were coming for him? Would he want them to? Maybe he’d left just, wanting nothing to do with Michael anymore.

No. No, he’d left the flash drive for Michael, he _wanted_ Michael to find it, to find _him_.

“Isobel, how many people do you think you can handle?” Max had begun to get the bones of their plan together and was now fleshing it out with their sister.

“10? Maybe more? It depends on how closed off their minds are. If they’re like Alex though… we might have to rely on you.” She nudged Michael at this, the motion shaking him out of his daze. Max and Isobel had matching looks of pity. His heart clenched painfully at their expressions. He didn’t need pity, he just needed Alex back.

“We need to leave. Soon.”

“What? No, we need to give it at least a day or two. We have to get a plan together.” Max reached out to grip his leg, but Michael couldn’t stand any touch that wasn’t from Alex right now. He sprung out of his chair, feeling like a live wire, whole body shaking.

“ _A day or two?_ No. That’s too long, they’ll be expecting us by then. If we go now, we might catch whoever did this by surprise.”

“Michael! We need a plan!”

“WE DON’T HAVE TIME. They could be hurting him. Torturing him. He could already be de-“ a sob ripped through him, the thought was too enormous, too painful for him to comprehend. He finally broke, huge gut-wrenching sobs erupting free from his chest. Alex was gone. And Michael was terrified. His siblings let him fall apart there in the room, for who knows how long. He came back into himself at the feeling of a hand gently rubbing circles into his back, a small comfort to the roiling agony inside himself. An arm had been slung over his shoulders, squeezing him tight into the body of his brother sitting next to him. “We have to get him back. I can’t- He can’t be gone.”

“We’ll get him back Michael. We will. We just have to be smart about it. Give Iz and me a few hours, and if, if, we get something together, we’ll go tonight.”

* * *

Driving out into the desert with his siblings was nothing like it had been a few nights ago with Alex. There was no companionable silence between them, just a combination of sickly fear and rage darkening the atmosphere in the car.

Michael stared at the desert flying by in the backseat. The area was ghostly, once green cactuses and orange rocks were now bleached white by the shine of a full moon, the soft light of the stars in the sky eradicated by its harshness. It was mesmerizing and haunting, causing a deep blanket of worry to settle into his bones as they went.

It took them hours to get there. Hours that felt like lifetimes when he knew his partner was somewhere out there facing down an unforgiving enemy alone.

The building in front of them was the type that filled his nightmares as a child. Large and foreboding it stuck out in the sky, drawing their gaze to it like a magnet. Nobody would have known it was there from the main road, it was at miles out in the desert itself, they’d known to turn off at the dirt path only from a local’s hand drawn map of the area Isobel had found online. They’d kept the speed under 5 mph in order to stop the dust from kicking up behind them, but even then, the whole group had held their breath as they caught sight of the compound. Luckily the twins had rented a Jeep, so they knew they could handle a high-speed chase if needed, even on the terrain they currently were on.

Michael felt like an ant standing in front of the looming monstrosity, his siblings at his side. Together they made quick time, hidden in the cover of the night and dressed in black. Isobel informed them of the guardsmen outside as they went, making sure they were able to slip by them all undetected. In the end they’d agreed with Michael that the element of surprise was the best course of action. There was a small door on one of the sides, they wanted to stay away from the main doors and the security they implied. A blinking keypad stared up at them, mocking their lack of preparedness.

If Alex was with them, he’d be able to hack into it.

Instead Max fried it, and they all hoped silently that it wouldn’t be setting off any alarms when it suddenly exploded.

The inside of the building was massive and dark. A number of doors were ajar in the area they found themselves in, the inside of the rooms decrepit and old. Just how long had this place been here? They moved in tandem, sweeping through hallways, but the entire place seemed empty. As they moved deeper into the building Michael started seeing staircases, leading up to unknown floors, though the twins kept on the same track, not wanting to go off the path they were on. Finally, after the third one, Michael made a decision. Letting the two lead the way, he fell to the back of the group. He made it halfway up the staircase before Isobel noticed his absence.

“ _Michael, what the fuck are you doing?”_ her voice echoed in his head, irritation evident.

_“I can’t keep just wandering hallways. If they have him, he’s gonna be with whoever runs this place, or in a torture room or something. Not in a utility hallway.”_

_“You can’t go off on your own! You need to stick with us.”_ He shook his head at Max, who had also doubled back for him.

 _“It’s fine. Isobel can contact me, and besides, I am a federal agent. I’ll be ok. You two will need each other, go. And come up here once you’ve cleared the floor. I’ll let Iz know if I get in trouble.”_ He continued up the stairs, feeling their eyes on his back as he went.

The second floor was better kept, in that it had at least been swept. Every so often he would pass a room that was lit, beakers and unknown liquids in jars on the shelves. One held an unspeakable horror, chains in the wall and a medical bed in the corner. He pushed it to the back of his mind and kept moving, not wanting to linger in one place long.

In the end he found Alex in a nondescript room, sitting ramrod straight in what looked like an uncomfortable hospital chair. He was in prisoners’ clothes instead of the outfit he’d had on when Michael had left him in the hotel room. A large bruise spread over the cheekbone of the left side of his face and turned imperceptibly into a black eye. His prosthetic was gone, his hair was mussed, and a muscle twitching in his jaw showed he was gritting his teeth against his pain. He was sat at a table. In front of him lay a gun. Michael skidded to a halt at the doorway, and slowly entered the room, unable to see what Alex was staring at from his perspective.

Sat across from Alex, a smug look on his face, was Jesse Manes.

“Michael. How nice of you to join us. I was wondering if my son here had managed to wedge his way into your life enough to get you to come. I must say I’m pleasantly surprised. I thought he’d be useless once my men couldn’t find your case files. I take it you had them then?”

Michael was so surprised that he couldn’t help but nod in form of an answer.

“You shouldn’t have come Guerin. You need to leave, now. You don’t understand, he’s-“

“Quiet Alex.” Alex’s jaw shut so fast Michael heard his teeth click. He dared take a step closer to the men at the table. Alex didn’t move, his muscles were tense and shaking a bit. Jesse sighed and turned his attention to Michael. “So. You thought you could come in and just? Take my son? No. That won’t do.”

“Why are you even doing this? What is wrong with you?”

“Well this,” he gestured between him and Alex, “is because Alex was getting too close to the truth.”

“What truth?”

“I killed those people.” He said it simply, with no emotion behind the words. “I have been for a while now. They were drifters, scum, they were damaging the town and needed to be taken care of.”

“So you killed them?”

“Yes. I got to kill two birds with one stone. I can reveal the threat that aliens are, and I could get rid of the harmful people in town. I’ve got people here that can kill with a touch. And after some, extensive experimenting, I can do the same. All I have to do is go public with the information I have now on aliens that I gathered, and I will have the full backing of the U.S. government to begin hunting down others like you. Dangerous aliens that have evaded us and hid themselves in society.”

“But we _aren’t_ dangerous. We never hurt anybody.”

Jesse scoffed, and shook his head.

“C’mon Michael. You and your family killed a man as _children_. You’re all monsters, every single one of you. And the world will know that soon enough.”

“You’re crazy.” They needed to move, get away from the man threatening him and his family. He stepped forward to help Alex up out of the chair. “Alex, come on. We need to get out of here.”

Jesse tsked and shook his head.

“Michael. Alex isn’t leaving. Him and I were having a conversation before you so rudely interrupted us. He’s disappointed me, and he’s facing the consequences now.” As he spoke Alex moved. His movements were halting, one hand was gripping the arm of the chair so hard his knuckles were white, the other stretching forward towards the gun on the table. For a split second the gun was pointed at Jesse, then to Michael’s horror it was smoothly moved to sit lightly against Alex’s head.

“Alex! God, stop!”

“Shut up Guerin. This is between the two of us.” Jesse didn’t look at him when he said it, his sole focus on Alex. “Besides, he never could stop me from getting into his mind before, he won’t start now.”

It clicked then for him. Jesse was controlling Alex.

“Get out of his head” Michael was full body shaking. The sight of the cold metal barrel pressed against Alex’s temple was churning his stomach. He knew in a second that this would be in his nightmares for the rest of his life _. There had to be a way out of this._ His thoughts were going a mile a minute trying to figure out a solution. He couldn’t lose Alex now he had found him. Alex had _just_ entered his life. If needed he would keep Alex pressed up against him forever, bodily shielding him from harm.

“I could make him take you out first. I wonder if it would hurt more that way. Would it even hurt you to lose him? Can your kind even feel emotional pain? It certainly would teach _him_ a lesson, if he had to kill you.” His voice was toneless, head tilted to the side, as if merely curious. To both Michael and Alex’s horror, Alex’s hand moved on its own, his whole arm vibrating with the effort to resist the control in his mind. But he couldn’t stop his body from moving the gun from his own head and pointing it towards Michael’s chest.

“Guerin.” His voice was strained, and Michael could tell he was speaking against the wishes of the commands dominating his thoughts. “Guerin, you need to get out of here. Leave me and get out.”

Before he was even done speaking, Michael was shaking his head, blocking out his words.

“I’m not leaving you Alex, not with _him,_ you don't have to face him alone, not anymore.” Alex forced his eyes closed, and Michael thought he could hear him choke on a sob.

“Michael, please.” His voice was barely a whisper now, cracking with the effort of getting the words out. “Please go.”

“Alex. You don’t have to do this. You can get him out. You did it with Iz, you can stop him. _Please Alex_.”

A clap echoed throughout the room, and Michael’s whole body flinched at the sound, while Alex stayed still, under otherworldly control.

“What do I have to do to keep your attention? One of you is dying tonight. If you can’t choose, I will.” Jesse looked expectantly between the two of them, eyes landing on Alex for a beat too long for Michael’s comfort.

“Me. Kill me, not him.” He hadn’t even really thought about it, words out of his mouth before he knew it.

“ _Michael, no._ ” Alex looked shattered, gun in his hand forgotten for a moment.

He went to answer, shooting a pleading look at his partner, hoping Alex would understand why he would sacrifice himself for the man.

The moment was cut off by a crash followed by an ear-piercing siren cutting through the air.

There was a beat, and then the gun went off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH! Ok. So. This is the chapter that I've been planning for a while now. It has THE scene in it that inspired this fic. The whole last part of this chapter is based and inspired by the episode Pusher in season 3 episode 17. The angst in that episode was perfectly fit for the boys imo.
> 
> Anyway, I finally got this chapter done at 2am, so technically under the wire there for Wednesday. It's twice as long as my normal chapters, so that kinda makes up for skipping Sunday right? Right?? And still thinking one more chapter after this!! AHHH. (I'm also kinda freaking out over the fact that I'm most likely going to go over 40K on this fic. That's crazy!)
> 
> As always, please, if you enjoyed comment, kudos, etc. I want to make sure that people are enjoying and interested in more fics in this universe! I do have a plan for a few shorter fics based on happier/funnier episodes that I'm hoping to write!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final, the end.

The presence in his mind was stifling, Alex could almost physically feel Jesse prodding into his deeper memories. There was a force holding him tight in his chair, a body wide pressure that sat heavy on his chest. Was Jesse making it harder to breathe, or was it just the panic setting in?

In a way it was inevitable, he was destined to be here. It had started all those years ago, and they had come full circle. And just like it was in the beginning, he was now completely unable to move, staring straight ahead. He was trapped in his own body, mind screaming at him to _move_ , even just a little.

He thought he’d left Jesse Manes behind him, and to feel him here, under his skin, the poison of the man pulsing in his veins, was enough to send his brain into a frenzy. He wanted him _out_. But he couldn’t move, couldn’t fight the force that had taken hold of him.

Michael arriving, that had been a surprise, he’d have to admit. The man practically sprinted by the room where they were having their silent battle; Alex could hear the sudden squeak of his sneakers as he turned heel and ran back to the doorway.

He arrived like an avenging angel, as if Alex had ever done anything in his life to deserve one. Michael stood there, chest heaving, looking like he ran a marathon to get to him.

The thing is, Alex tried, he fought like hell against the voice scrambling his thoughts. But Jesse, he’d always managed to get into his head, wriggling in, claws digging into the most vulnerable of places in his brain. Sometimes in the middle of the night a deep ache in his chest would wake him, invading him with thoughts of inadequacy, of poison deep in his soul.

Focus. He had to focus.

Michael was there, yelling, screaming, begging Alex to fight through the control. But the insistent voice in his brain told him to just. Give up. Michael would be better off without him. All he’d done was bring pain to the people he loved, agony his constant companion in this life. And anyway, the cold metal barrel of the gun just fit _so well_ against his temple didn’t it?

Then his arm was moving, aiming the weapon towards Michael, and he fought against the movement even harder than he had before. In no world was he going to hurt Michael. It was unthinkable, untenable.

“Guerin, you need to get out of here. Leave me and get out.” But Michael was shaking his head, refusing to leave.

“I’m not leaving you Alex, not with _him,_ you’re not alone, not anymore.”

It hit deep; he’d have to admit. Hope bloomed in his chest at the words and wilted in the reality of his situation. The sudden warmth and immediate chill of it pulled a sob from his chest.

“Michael, please.” He could feel Jesse pushing more, increasing the pressure in an effort to silence him completely. “Please go.”

And then Michael was offering himself up to Jesse, practically presenting himself on a silver platter. Everything that Alex had feared falling into place in front of him, while he sat there, unable to prevent it. He had to sit and watch, gun pointed at the chest of the man he loved, as they bartered one life for another.

The alarm startled them all, blaring in long insistent tones. A sudden lightness suffused throughout his body. A blessed quiet filled his mind, and he was able to move again.

He swiveled in his seat and fired.

Michael flinched at the noise, but Alex could only sit and watch as blood began to spread slowly on Jesse Mane’s shirt.

His dad looked up at him with wide eyes, shock painted on his face.

“You. You fucking shot me.”

Alex didn’t move, staring at the man who had destroyed his family. The siren kept blaring as he watched his father slowly bleed out in front of him.

* * *

“Alex. Alex come on; we have to go.” Michael tugged on his partner’s arm, desperately trying to get him up off the chair.

The man in front of him looked lost, his face slowly draining of blood, turning pale in the harsh white light of the room.

“ _Alex_ ” something about his tone broke through, finally pulling Alex’s attention to him “we have to go. _Now_.”

“Michael, my mo-“his voice caught in his throat “my mom. She’s here. We have to get her out.”

He sent out a quick pulse through the mind-link to his siblings, less of a fully realized statement, and more of a question mark. He got back a panicked thought, mostly the impression of running full tilt, an irate Isobel thinking hard thoughts at Max, and the feeling of something leaning heavily on the twins.

“My siblings have people with them. At least two that I can tell. We have to go find them and get out of here. Isobel’s yelling at Max, who apparently did something to the cells downstairs and set off a security system.”

Michael quickly slipped his arm under Alex and hauled him up out of the chair.

“Come on, we have to get moving. Do you know where they put your leg?”

“No.” The response was short and curt, but Michael could feel Alex’s grip tighten on his shoulder, pulling them closer together. They moved as one, working in tandem and moving quickly through the labyrinthine hallways. The lower floor where he’d left his siblings came into view, and with it the staircase. Alex halted under his arm causing the two of them to screech to a stop.

“Alex?”

“Stairs take me a bit of time to navigate.” He was flushed red, resolutely not making eye contact.

“Can I?” Michael made an aborted movement towards Alex’s leg, trying to ask if he could lift the man. Alex blushed more furiously than before but nodded his consent. In one swift move Michael leaned over and gathered Alex into his arms bridal style. His partner gripped tight, fisting his hands into the fabric of Michael’s shirt and burying his face into the junction where shoulder met neck. He could feel Alex’s heart beat erratically against his chest and wondered briefly if Alex could feel his as well.

Brushing the sudden soft thoughts from his head, Michael took the stairs two at a time, feeling the desperation begin to leak through the mind-bond with his siblings. Isobel and Max were obviously beginning to freak out, not wanting to leave him behind in the compound. As soon as he hit the bottom floor he broke out into a sprint, not bothering to put Alex down. He just gripped tight and ran, following the path out that he’d taken to get in. He could feel the twins urging him on, chanting encouragement in an effort to get him to move faster.

He broke out into the night, stumbling a bit as tile turned to sand underneath his feet. Michael could see his family in the distance, surrounded by a small group of people crowding around the Jeep. As he sprinted towards them the small gathering suddenly moved as if one entity to shield themselves with the Jeep.

_Fuck I hope we make it._

Searing heat snapped at his heels as he made, barely, to the Jeep. Michael practically flung Alex to safety, and then threw himself on top to protect Alex from the explosion following them. The heat died down, and Michael made a move to sit up, only to be drug back down by Alex. An earth-shattering _boom_ rang out into the silence of the desert, the force of it rocking the vehicle they were crouched behind.

Michael pushed himself up on his elbows just enough so that he was straddling the man beneath him.

“Hey, you alright?” Alex looked dazed, staring up at him through long dark lashes. He was a bit unfocused but seemed to be coming around.

“You?”

“Yea, yea I’m good.” He tore his gaze away from Alex, albeit with difficulty, to look over at the small ragtag group of people around him.

Isobel was helping up a small older man to his feet, while Max was leaning over a younger person, looking intently at their leg to see if it was broken. Two older women were cradling each other in the sand, slowly rocking back and forth and sobbing. One woman struggled over to where the two of them were, tears streaming as she approached them.

“Mom?” Alex’s voice cracked as he shoved his way out from under Michael. She hit him hard, pulling Alex into her arms. Michael sat back on his haunches and watched as they dissolved into happy tears, holding tight to one another. Isobel looked over; one perfectly shaped eyebrow raised at him. He could only offer back was a small shrug, all he really knew is that they had made it.

_Michael?_

A small voice permeated his thoughts, drawing his attention towards one of the women kneeling in the sand.

_Who are you?_ If the woman had powers like Isobel, she should be able to hear his reply.

_Come here and see_. She was holding out one hand, the other still wrapped around the woman at her side.

Michael staggered over to her, taking her outstretched hand, letting her tug him down to his knees.

_It’s so good to see you again. I thought- I thought I wouldn’t make it._ She caressed his cheek, tears slowly dripping down her face. _My Michael, my boy. I’m so proud of you. I love you._

_Are you? Mom?_ She nodded through her tears, beaming at him. He allowed her to pull him into a tight hug, squeezing back with all the strength he had.

* * *

Ultimately, they were lucky that Isobel had found such a huge place to stay. The rescued people, aliens and humans alike, found that they had enough room for all of them. Quiet introductions were made in the back of the Jeep on the way back into town, and Michael quickly discovered that they had an eclectic bunch who had survived so much together. Men, women, people somewhere in the mix, all age groups, it seemed Jesse didn’t discriminate with who he took captive. 

He was determined to keep his distance with Alex. They both had just found their family in that house of horror, it made sense they would need to decompress. And, the last conversation they’d had had been the argument in their hotel. Were they ok? Michael knew he loved the man, but if it was a risk to their partnership, their friendship, he didn’t want to push it. But every so often he would catch Alex staring at him out of the corner of his eye. They’d have to talk.

After it was all said and done, and everyone had settled in, Michael found Alex typing away at his computer, alone in one of the many bedrooms.

“Don’t you ever take a break Alex?” The man looked up blearily from his laptop, blinking slowly at Michael leaning in the doorway.

“There’s still so much to do. I have to make papers for all of these people, update my mother’s information, find them someplace to stay. My mom has already said that they can stay with her at the reservation. But they need help.”

“Alex, you’re exhausted. Let’s just get you cleaned up, and then get you to bed. You need rest, you can work on that later.”

“Trying to get me in bed with you Guerin?”

Michael couldn’t hold back the snort of laughter at that.

“Well, at least you’re feeling well enough to flirt.” Alex blushed scarlet, grabbed his crutch they’d retrieved from the hotel room, and made his way to the bathroom.

As Alex showered Michael got out his own computer and started his (highly edited) account of what had happened. He made sure to make it clear that Jesse Manes was a lunatic who had kidnapped a federal officer, tortured him, and it took the efforts of both federal agents to take him down. He tied the murders to him, implying that there was some sort of poisonous agent injected into the victims. Michael had managed to snag his sisters cell phone, and as he typed up his report, he called Assistant Director Valenti. There was no way their little stunt of _exploding a government building_ had went unnoticed, and he’d rather explain the situation to her than have her figure out they were involved. If he could head off her investigation, that would be all the better.

* * *

He had to admit, the hot water felt amazing on his skin after the hell he’d been through. It eased the ache in his muscles and allowed him to relax for the first time in maybe years. Alex felt like he could finally take a full breath, the humid air filling his lungs.

Jesse was dead at his hands.

It bothered him a bit that he felt nothing about it, nothing but numb relief. Maybe it was because he could still feel it, the poison in his blood was still there, simmering under the surface. But there was a small amount of control he had over it now. He could push it down more, pretend like it didn’t exist.

From the shower he could hear Michael speaking loudly, hurried and upset. Alex quickly finished up, pushing thoughts of his dead father out of his head for the time being.

_Fine. We’ll see you back in Washington. Yes, I’ll have my report on your desk first thing on Monday._

Michael’s tone was clipped and short but there was no mistaking he was talking to A.D. Valenti.

“What’d she say?” Alex tousled his hair carefully one handed with a towel, as he exited the bathroom. Michael was sitting up on the bed, glaring at the cell phone in his hand.

“Well, good news, we’re not getting fired for exploding a defunct secret U.S. base.”

“Yea, not getting fired does tend to be good.”

“Bad news, no bodies recovered.”

_“What?”_ An icy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

“Yea. Valenti said that there were CIA agents already at the site when backup arrived. Transport vehicles were spotted leaving.”

Alex let his body collapse heavily onto the bed.

“So. The CIA has him?”

“Most likely.”

“What would they want with him?”

“I don’t know Alex.” Michael shifted on the bed and reached out to grab his hand. “But. We’ll get through this together.”

He looked down at the fingers tangled in his own, letting himself draw comfort from the contact.

“Michael-“ he took a deep shuddering breath “Thank you. For coming for me. Looking for me. I didn’t know if, if you would, not after what happened in the morning.”

“I told you Alex, you’re not alone, not anymore. You’ve got your mom, your family... you’ve got me.”

Michael wrapped his arms around him, pulling them both back onto the bed. Alex felt himself relax into him, the stress of the last few days taking their toll, a bone deep exhaustion setting in. Alex snuggled close, burying his face into Michael’s chest.

“We’re going to be ok, right?” He knew it was muffled in the fabric of Michael’s shirt, but he didn’t care.

“Yea. We’re going to be ok.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well friends, this is it. This is the final chapter of this fic. I have plans for two fics in this universe, both based off of specific episodes. One is The Jersey Devil episode (but it's actually about Bigfoot kinda? lmao, it's a weird episode), the second is Bad Blood (which is the episode I recommend to people who are starting to watch The X-Files for the first time). I'm doing the Roswell, New Mexico Big Bang and I'm also planning on doing prompt fics. If you're interested in keeping up with me you can follow my tumblr at [draculaspetbee](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/draculaspetbee)
> 
> I am. Feeling a lot of things. Thanks to everyone who stuck with me through this fic, and who commented on my chapters. This was my first ever chapter fic, and I'm so humbled by all the support I've had.


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